UN buys oil tanker to prevent oil spill in Yemen

The United Nations has acquired a vessel to remove oil from a tanker off the coast of Yemen, officials said on Thursday.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said it had signed a contract to buy an oil tanker from Euronav.

What do we know about the tanker?

The FSO Safer tanker has been docked off the coast of Yemen for years, threatening ecological catastrophe if the dilapidated vessel damages enough to cause an oil spill.

Safer contains 1.1 million barrels of oil, four times more than was spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, according to the UN. The Exxon Valdez had a similar cargo on board, about a quarter of which actually spilled.

An oil spill could clog the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which runs between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, blocking shipments to the Suez Canal.

The 47-year-old ship has not been maintained since the civil war broke out in Yemen in 2015. The UN has warned that the tanker’s structural integrity has been damaged and is at risk of exploding.

It was abandoned in the port of Hodeida, which is held by Houthi rebels. The port is a critical gateway for shipments to Yemen, which relies heavily on foreign aid.

What did the UN say about the purchase?

UNDP chief Achim Steiner called the deal a “great step forward”.

Steiner said the effort would “avoid the risk of a full-scale environmental and humanitarian disaster”.

He added that, if everything goes “as planned”, the operation will start in early May, after routine maintenance of the vessel carried out in China.

The UN had been looking for a solution for years and appealed for the ship to be donated or leased, finally deciding to buy it. “Frankly, we had no choice but to buy a vessel,” said UN humanitarian aid coordinator David Gressly.

The salvage operation is expected to cost $129 million (about €120 million). The UN said $75 million had been received and another $20 million pledged.

Steiner warned that the UN could still suspend the operation if it does not secure the remaining funds. “Let me be very clear: this is a risky operation and things can go wrong,” Steiner said.

sdi/msh (AFP, Reuters)