UN buys carrier to remove oil from FSO Safer ship near Yemen
The FSO Safer fell into disarray after Houthi rebels seized control of it in the Red Sea, and it could cause an environmental disaster in war-torn Yemen.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced on Thursday that it reached a breakthrough in its efforts to prevent a major oil spill off the coast of Yemen.
UNDP signed an agreement with the Belgian transportation firm Euronav to purchase a “Very Large Crude Carrier.” The ship will remove more than a million barrels of oil that is stuck on the decaying FSO Safer ship in the Red Sea near the Yemeni coast. It is currently undergoing modifications and maintenance before setting sail for Yemen and is expected to arrive in early May, UNDP said in a press release.
Major step fwd to prevent catastrophic Red Sea oil spill from #FSOSafer w/the purchase of a vessel to remove millions of barrels of oil. @UNDP tasked with this complex salvage operation - working w/ sister agencies + experts on the @UN-coordinated plan https://t.co/6RG07BF7Di
— Achim Steiner (@ASteiner) March 9, 2023
Background: The FSO Safer is a storage and production ship that is moored in the Red Sea about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) off the coast of Yemen. It was built in 1976 and was converted to store oil in 1987. In 2015, Houthi rebels seized control of the ship amid the Yemeni civil war. Since then, the ship has fallen into disarray without maintenance.
