 "Supertanker purchased by UN to prevent Yemen oil spill departs for Red Sea")
United Nations, United States: A supertanker purchased by the United Nations to remove oil from a ship abandoned off the coast of war-torn Yemen had left China on Thursday, the UN announced, calling it a “significant” step in efforts to prevent a major spill.
The UN Development Program (UNDP) acquired the crude carrier Nautica in March to evacuate over a million barrels of oil from the troubled FSO Safer.
That was an unprecedented step for the agency, and it was hailed as a breakthrough in attempts to prevent a potentially disastrous oil spill.
The 47-year-old FSO Safer has been abandoned off the rebel-held port of Hodeida, a crucial entryway for imports into the nation, which is highly reliant on emergency foreign help.
The Nautica departed port on Wednesday after receiving standard repair in Zhoushan, China, according to a UNDP statement.
The ship, which was acquired from large tanker company Euronav, is anticipated to arrive in early May and will halt on route for extra technical improvements, according to a UN spokeswoman.
“The departure of the Nautica, and its onward journey to the Red Sea, is a significant next step in the complex operation to take on the oil from the Safer,” said UNDP chief Achim Steiner, according to the statement.
He called for urgent contributions to fund the operation, the $129 million budget for which still has a gap of $34 million as of 4 April. The UN has even launched a crowdfunding page, aiming to raise $500,000.
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View All“We are in a race against time and I urge leaders in government, CEOs of corporations and any individual in a position to contribute to step forward and support us in keeping this operation, which is fast reaching a critical stage, on track,” Steiner said.
The statement cited “spiralling costs” for VLCCs – very large crude carriers, like the Nautica – in a market impacted by the war in Ukraine.
“We have the best available technical expertise and political support from all sides,” said David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.
“We just need the final piece of funding this month to ensure success” and prevent “a catastrophe,” he added.
The Safer’s 1.1 million barrels of oil is four times as much as that spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, one of the world’s worst ecological catastrophes, according to the UN.
An ecological disaster could also clog the Bab al-Mandab strait between Africa and the Arabian peninsula, taking a major toll on the global economy by holding up the Suez Canal.
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