In a written statement from the United Nations (UN) Development Program (UNDP), it was stated that the risk of a serious environmental disaster was eliminated with the completion of the oil discharge.
It was recorded that 1.14 million barrels of oil were transferred to the tanker named “Yemen” with the unloading process that started on July 25 from the Safer tanker.
It was reported that less than 2 percent of the oil in Safer mixed with the sediment will be discharged during the cleaning phase of the tanker.
Regarding the evacuation of oil in Safer, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Today, I welcome the news that the transfer of oil from Safer was concluded safely. The UN-led operation averted a massive environmental and humanitarian disaster.” made his comment.
UNDP Director Achim Steiner also expressed his satisfaction with the release of the oil, adding, “There is still work to be done, but today we can confidently say that the threat of a spill has been averted.” made its assessment.
David Gressly, UN Humanitarian Aid Coordinator for Yemen, stated that the work will continue and said, “Today is a big turning point. An extraordinary global coalition came together under the UN umbrella to prevent the worst-case scenario of a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea.” used the phrases.
Safer oil tanker
There was a risk that more than 1 million barrels of oil in the Safer tanker belonging to a company affiliated with the Yemeni government, which has been anchored in a neglected state since 2015, off the coast of the city of Hudaydah in Yemen, would leak into the Red Sea.
UN Yemen Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Gressly warned of a “ticking bomb” for the Safer tanker last year, saying that it would cost $20 billion to fix possible leaks in the tanker.
The UN, which has been working and collecting funds for the unloading of the tanker for a long time, announced in March that an agreement was reached on the purchase of a large crude oil ship to unload the oil in Safer, thanks to the donations collected.
The ship in question reached the port of Hudaydah in western Yemen on 16 July.
The evacuation of more than 1 million barrels of oil in the tanker, which was warned to cause an environmental disaster, started on 25 July.