The United Nations in May launched an effort to raise US$75 million to pay for the removal of more than a million barrels of crude oil from the FSO Safer off Yemen’s west coast, warning that the ship was at risk of breaking up or exploding. Such a disaster would have far-reaching implications for the countries and marine life along the Red Sea, as well as global supply chains that rely on the ability to cross those waters, as well as the distribution of humanitarian aid in war-torn Yemen. The UN estimates that a cleanup effort will cost at least US$20 billion. On Wednesday, the UN said 17 countries, as well as companies and individuals, had pledged $78 million – more than enough to complete the first phase of the rescue plan. But most of the pledges had yet to be transferred to the UN and work could not begin until the money was received. Canada announced a $2.5 million commitment to the venture on September 6. It issued the payment to the United Nations Development Program the next day, Global Affairs Canada told CBC News on Wednesday. This chart shows the location of FSO Safer on the west coast of Yemen. Experts warn that an oil spill could cause major disruption to international shipping through the Red Sea. (CBC News)
Tight schedule to complete the rescue operation
Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, David Gresley, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said he was confident countries would send the money by the end of September in order to start the delayed rescue operation. “While most of the money hasn’t come in yet, most of the deals [with donors] have now been signed, which is the condition for the actual funds to be transferred,” he told reporters. “We have very hard commitments from those who have not yet signed contracts [that they will] do it.” The United Nations did not name the countries that had yet to transfer funds or say how much money was outstanding and ended the press conference after only a few questions from reporters. The UN now has a very narrow window to complete the four-month operation, which it had hoped to start in the first half of 2022, warning in May that strong winds and currents in the Red Sea from September onwards would increase the risk of a sunken tanker which dissolves. Gressly said Wednesday he expects teams to be on the ground within a few weeks to begin preparations for the rescue operation, which will take place amid a ceasefire between Yemen’s warring sides. This undated photo shows corrosion on the FSO Safer. With many systems on board no longer working, salvage teams will spend three months preparing the Safer before its oil can be safely offloaded. (Holm Akhdar) The salvage plan follows more than three years of urging by local environmentalists in Yemen, who warned of the risk of an ecological disaster from the rusting ship.
“time bomb”
Since 1988, the ship, owned by Yemen’s state oil company, has been used to store, transport and export crude oil from the country’s oil fields. But after war broke out in 2015 between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels, the waters where the Safer is moored became contested and the ship derelict. Greenpeace described it as a “ticking time bomb”. The first three months of the rescue mission will be spent preparing the ship to safely offload the oil, including ensuring its oil tanks are opened without the risk of explosion, as its systems for pumping inert gases into the oil chambers were no longer working. Hydraulic pumps will be used to transfer the oil to a temporary vessel moored alongside the Safer. The empty tanks will then be cleaned to remove any residual oil and debris before the Safer is towed away and sold for scrap. WATCHES | UN outlines rescue plan for FSO Safer:
UN prepares to empty decaying oil tanker
David Gresley, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, explains details of the four-month mission to remove oil from a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen before it caused environmental disaster. “We want to take a very careful approach to make sure that not only does the oil not contaminate the bay during the transfer, but that the ship itself is completely clean before we consider it a successful operation,” Gresley said Wednesday. He was confident the UN would be able to raise an additional US$38 million needed for a second phase of the operation, which includes finding a permanent storage solution for the oil.
Canada is slow to contribute
In May, Global Affairs Canada told CBC News that the government did not plan to give money. He did not respond to multiple requests for further information. On Wednesday, the ministry said the due diligence process for international aid initiatives took longer when it involved a conflict zone. The UN launched a public crowdfunding campaign in June in an attempt to cover the shortfall in country contributions. This graph illustrates the potential risk of oil contamination in the event of a spill from FSO Safer, based on an analysis carried out for the UK Government by Riskaware. (CBC News) The Dutch government on Tuesday announced an additional €7.5 million (Cdn$10 million) for the venture, bringing its total contribution to €15 million. The United States pledged $10 million in June, following pledges from Qatar and some European countries. Members of the public had contributed US$200,000, the UN said in a statement on Wednesday. The operation was set to cost less than the UN had originally expected. In May, it predicted it would need to raise US$144 million, but on Wednesday, it said it had found a cheaper long-term storage option and now expected the total cost to be US$113 million.
