ALBAWABA- The United Nations has announced that preparations are underway to offload the cargo of the abandoned Safer oil tanker, which is located off the coast of Yemen.
The 47-year-old vessel, serving as a floating storage platform, is currently holding approximately 1.1 million barrels of crude oil.
Due to a lack of maintenance since 2015, the ship has experienced structural deterioration. SMIT Salvage has been tasked with transferring the oil from the Safer to the UN-acquired vessel, Nautica, specifically procured for this operation. The estimated cost of this complex operation is $148 million.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen has confirmed that the oil transfer can proceed with an acceptable level of risk. Although the Safer is fully secured for the purpose of oil transfer between ships, there is still some residual risk, prompting the establishment of a contingency plan in the event of an incident.
Safer oil tanker. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
The Nautica is currently preparing to set sail from Djibouti and is expected to dock alongside the Safer in the following week to commence the oil extraction process, which is estimated to take about two weeks to complete. This undertaking brings a sense of relief to the global community as the Safer tanker holds four times the amount of oil spilt by the Exxon Valdez, which caused a major environmental disaster in the United States in 1989.
A potential leak from the Safer could result in an oil slick impacting not only the Yemeni coast but also the coasts of Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. The estimated cost of water cleanup is approximately $20 million.
