Preventing an Environmental Catastrophe Off Yemen's Coast
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The Safer: A Historical Overview
The United Nations is working diligently to avert a potential oil disaster from a tanker off Yemen's coast. Originally constructed in 1976 as Esso Japan, the Safer was among the largest oil tankers of its time. The demand for such enormous carriers surged when oil prices were low and plentiful. However, upon its completion, the tanker was already outdated due to changes in the global oil landscape.
In the aftermath of the 1973 Oil Crisis, the re-opening of the Suez Canal restricted access to large vessels. Consequently, while the Safer had a brief operational period, it was soon deemed fit for decommissioning.
In 1987, the Hunt Oil Company purchased the Safer and transformed it into a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel, now known as FSO Safer. It was anchored near the Ras Isa port in Yemen, where it played a pivotal role in transporting petroleum from the Marib oil fields.
For over two decades, the Safer was utilized by the state-operated Safer Exploration & Production Operations Company until Yemen was engulfed in a devastating civil war.
The Unraveling of Yemen
In 2011, Yemen experienced the Arab Spring, which led to the ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh after three decades in power. His successor, President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, inherited a nation rife with division, including separatist movements and the presence of al-Qaeda.
By 2014, tensions escalated once more as protests erupted in response to Hadi's proposed constitutional and budget reforms, particularly the hike in fuel prices. The Houthi rebel movement, a significant opponent, seized the capital, Sanaa, on September 21, 2014, igniting a civil war.
The conflict intensified in March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily, backing Hadi against the Houthis, who allegedly receive support from Iran. The ongoing war has resulted in one of the century's most severe humanitarian crises, with nearly nine thousand civilian casualties and millions displaced.
Human Rights Concerns
The conflict has drawn global scrutiny, with both sides accused of war crimes, including the use of child soldiers and attacks on civilians. The Saudi coalition's airstrikes, particularly those utilizing Western-supplied weapons, have garnered significant media attention, raising ethical questions about arms sales to the region.
The Safer: A Looming Disaster
Amidst this turmoil, the FSO Safer has been left abandoned off Yemen's coast, carrying 1.1 million barrels of volatile crude oil. Since 2017, the vessel has been non-operational, its steam boiler out of fuel and critical safety processes halted.
As described by Ed Caesar in The New Yorker, the Safer has essentially become a ticking time bomb, akin to the ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut in 2020. The vessel's corroding structure raises grave concerns about potential leaks or even catastrophic failure.
An oil spill from the Safer, estimated to release a quarter of the oil involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, could devastate the Red Sea ecosystem, threatening the livelihoods of countless fishing communities in Yemen and disrupting crucial port operations.
Efforts for Resolution
In 2018, both the Yemeni government and Houthi leadership sought UN assistance to address the Safer's precarious situation. Negotiations with the Houthis have been complicated, as they view the Safer as leverage in diplomatic discussions, preferring repairs over oil removal, which the UN deems impossible.
However, a significant development occurred in April when the UN secured access and funding for a rescue mission, estimated at €120 million. The operation, managed by Dutch maritime company SMIT Salvage, is designed to safely extract the oil and neutralize the threat it poses.
The initiative commenced on May 30, with the arrival of the salvage vessel Ndeavor, tasked with pumping inert gas into the Safer's tanks to mitigate fire risks. Subsequently, the oil will be transferred to a UN-purchased tanker, Nautica.
Upon securing the oil, plans are in place to tow the Safer away for scrapping. The fate of the extracted oil and the benefits of its sale remain unaddressed.
Update as of October 23: The UN confirmed the successful transfer of oil from the Safer to a replacement vessel on August 11. As reported by UN News, the second phase involves establishing a mooring system for the new vessel, requiring an additional US$ 20 million in funding.
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