The UN will ask for $80 million in donations in order to remove nearly a million barrels of oil on a stranded supertanker off the coast of Yemen.
The decaying ship, the 376-meter-long FSO Safer, is thought to have around 1.14 million barrels stored aboard in total, and has been left to rust for six years amid the Yemeni civil war, after it was converted into a floating storage facility.
UN-backed engineers have been prevented from inspecting the 45-year-old ship by the Iran-backed Houthis, who currently control the capital, Sanaa, and who claim ownership of the ship and its cargo, using both as bargaining chips with the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which backs the internationally recognized government.
Fears abound that, should the ship begin to leak, or be hit with munitions as a result of the war, it could cause an unprecedented environmental disaster in the Red Sea, with the damage ruining diverse marine ecosystems and affecting the livelihoods of as many as 200,000 local fishermen.
The coasts of Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia could also be affected, and a spill would lead to significant disruption — and even the closure — of the Yemeni ports of Hodeidah and As Salif, which would massively hinder the country’s commercial activity and ability to receive humanitarian aid.
A new scheme devised by UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly will see the UN attempt to raise $80 million from donors at a conference on Wednesday in a bid to avert such a disaster, which could cost upwards of $20 billion to clean up.
The UN claims the plan has the backing of both the rebels and the coalition, after the Houthis signed a memorandum of understanding on removing the oil from the Safer on March 5, to be transferred to a secure vessel, and later a new tanker, ensuring the cargo can still be held and sold by the militia.
The FSO Safer will be towed and scrapped, with the Houthis incurring no liability for the ship.
The MoU was signed amid a general ceasefire in Yemen, the first for six years, after President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi stood down after 10 years in office, handing power over to the Presidential Leadership Council, led by Rashad Al-Alimi.
The timing of the ceasefire is critical for the future of the FSO Safer. Gressly said the supertanker was “rapidly decaying,” adding: “It is at imminent risk of spilling a massive amount of oil due to leakages or an explosion.”
Environmental activist group Greenpeace told the Observer newspaper the oil needed to be removed before October, “when the wind and the currents will be too dangerous and hinder any rescue operation.”
Doug Weir, research and policy director at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, told the Observer: “While some may question the $80 million price tag of the UN-mediated plan to address the threat posed by the FSO Safer, the costs of inaction — which start at $20 billion for managing the consequences of a catastrophic spill — are far, far greater.
“The world has watched this situation grow more dangerous with every passing month, and it’s vital that donors provide the money that is needed to allow this urgent plan to proceed this summer.”