UN removes one million barrels of oil from decaying Yemeni tanker, averts major humanitarian catastrophe

The United Nations concluded Friday the transfer of one million barrels of oil from a rusting supertanker off Yemen to a replacement vessel, “avoiding what could have been a monumental environmental and humanitarian catastrophe” in Antonio Guterres’s words.

The UN secretary-general welcomed the news of the successful oil transfer from the FSO Safer, which was built as a supertanker in 1976 and later converted into a floating oil container. Things changed after a civil war broke out in 2015, bringing the maintenance of the vessel to a halt.

Any Potential Leakage Would Have Catastrophic Consequences

The UN had repeatedly raised concerns over the immediate threat the decaying Yemeni tanker posed to the country and the wider region as it could explode, break apart or facilitate leakage, which could have brought catastrophic consequences.

Any potential leakage would have abruptly closed all ports in the area, while cutting off food, fuel and other life-saving supplies to a country where 80% of the population – or over 21 million people – depend on humanitarian assistance.

Following two years of fundraising, a UN salvage team started transferring oil from the supertanker to a replacement vessel on July 25. A substantial portion of the 1.14 million barrels of oil has now been extracted.

There Is Still Some Work To Be Done

Less than two percent of the original oil remains mixed in with sediment that will be removed during the final cleaning. Guterres confirmed the UN’s commitment to complete the operation, which has an overall cost of $140 million, with some $20 million still required.

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He expressed his gratitude to the authorities of Yemen, while also thanking the many countries, corporate donors, philanthropic donors and ordinary citizens, who assisted the operation with the necessary funding. He called on donors to step up support.