Saudi Arabia welcomes start of work on vessel in Red Sea

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has welcomed the start of the United Nations’ operational plan to recover the FSO Safer oil tanker, an offloading vessel that is moored in the Red Sea north of the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah, and pump out approximately 1.14 million barrels of crude oil.

The Kingdom commended United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ efforts for the UN’s ‘FSO Safer Tanker Stop the Red Sea Catastrophe’ initiative. 

The Foreign Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also praised the financial support provided by donor countries to end the FSO Safer crisis, which could spill over a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to offer financial aid through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, which was established in the framework of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to alleviate the suffering of people in need worldwide.

The Kingdom also lauded the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen for supporting the arrival of the replacement vessel to start the unloading process.

Saudi Arabia also said that it would help the United Nations and the government of Yemen to end issues related to the FSO tanker in the Red Sea.

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In May this year, the United Nations started the operation to prevent the Red Sea spill. The experts from a world-leading salvage company came to prepare the Safer for the transfer of its oil. 

The FSO Safer supertanker can hold four times the amount of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez, owned by Exxon Shipping Company. The FSO Safer supertanker has the potential to become the 5th largest oil spill from a tanker in history, which can be dangerous for the environment. The spill can also destroy pristine reefs, coastal mangroves and other sea life across the Red Sea.