Al Hudaydah, 14 June 2022 (TDI): The United Nations (UN), has launched a campaign on social media. The goal of the campaign is to increase global awareness of a supertanker in degradation that is anchored off Yemen.
This campaign will stop the tanker from spewing oil, which may be disastrous for the area and beyond. Thus, there need to raise funds to commence the $80 million emergency operation. This will move oil from the FSO Safer to a temporary vessel.
Off the Red Sea coast of Yemen, the FSO Safer is docked. More than a million barrels of oil are present there. The tanker is beyond repair, and there is concern that it might soon explode or disintegrate.
Also, it is one of the world’s largest tankers, measuring 376 meters in length. It contains nearly four times as much crude compared to that released during the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident off the coast of Alaska.
In addition, the Safer has spent more than 30 years anchored a few kilometers off the coast of Yemen. However, due to the conflict between the pro-Government coalition and the Houthi rebels saw the halt of offloading from the ship and maintenance in 2015.
Funding shortfall
The UN is ready to carry out the emergency rescue operation in light of this. Insufficient money for the transfer operation, however, has caused a delay.
Following this week’s announcement of a $10 million donation from Saudi Arabia, approximately three-quarters of the necessary funds have been raised. Additionally, the US is aiming to provide $10 million.
David Gressly, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen started the crowd fundraising campaign. The goal is to raise $5 million in individual donations by the end of the month so that construction can begin in July. It inspires people all over the world to take part.
A two-track plan with a total cost of $144 million includes the transfer operation. It also entails the installation of a substitute vessel for the FSO Safer.
Roads proposal
Hans Grundberg, the UN’s special representative for Yemen, is still working on his assignments. This comes after the Government and Houthi rebels recently extended their two-month ceasefire.
Additionally, the Envoy traveled to Sana’a, the Houthi heartland, last week to discuss a number of topics. Among them is the suggestion to gradually reopen important roads in Taiz and other governorates.
The UN plan takes into account a number of issues. During negotiations that began in Amman, Jordan, last month, both parties voiced the worries they face.
Sana’a is expected to respond to the idea soon, according to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen. Road construction is an effort to lessen Yemenis’ suffering.
It will bring about some sense of normalization and facilitate freedom of movement for civilians, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York .
According to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, it will promote a sense of normalcy and make civilians’ freedom of movement easier.
Moreover, UN Special Envoy Grundberg is still dedicated to working with the parties to put the truce’s provisions into effect. Yemeni women, men, and children will continue to receive direct advantages from this.
It will discuss the further actions to build on the prospects offered by the ceasefire to put Yemen on a path to peace, he said.
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