- The outcry is getting louder for UN officials to gain access to a rusting oil tanker moored off Yemen.
- As already the world is awake after the environmental disaster in Mauritius and the devastation in Beirut.
- Leaders from the Arab world along with the environmental group Greenpeace are among the latest to appeal for action.
- The single-hull FSO Safer, a 46-year-old converted tanker sits just off the port of Hodeidah in Houthi rebel-held territory.
- Houthi (Ansar Allah) forces provide no permission for the UN inspection teams to board the vessel despite repeated appeals.
The outcry grows after Beirut and Mauritius for Action on Yemen Oil Tanker, reports the Maritime Executive. A major spill would be catastrophic for the environment and would destroy the livelihoods of coastal communities in Yemen.
Oil Tanker could sink
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that the aging vessel is carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil and has had almost no maintenance since 2015.
UN states that seawater began leaking into the engine room, which could have destabilized and sunk the entire vessel. It would lead to the potential release of oil into the sea.
Though a temporary fix is applied it is unclear about its longevity.
Environmental disaster
The major spill could damage the environment and the livelihoods of coastal communities in Yemen.
Most of the oil would likely wash up on Yemen’s west coast in areas controlled by the Houthi authorities.
A spill would also likely force Hudaydah port to close for weeks or months, which would cripple Yemen’s largest port.
As Yemen imports nearly all its food and everything else, the UN said this would have devastating consequences for millions of people – including communities located far from the coast.
Repair mission obstructed
As the earlier appeals from the UN to access the FSO have not been granted permission, less trust lies between the Houthi forces and the UN.
On July 14, the UN submitted an official request to the Houthi authorities to undertake an assessment and initial repair mission to the Safer.
The UN is in contact with the authorities on this and urges them to expedite the necessary procedures so this work can begin.
In February, the United Nations reduced aid to Houthi-controlled regions because Houthi militias were allegedly blocking or restricting humanitarian missions.
Greenpeace asks for immediate action
In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Greenpeace called on the UN to make the situation its top priority and use its “full diplomatic and technical capacity to carry out an urgent on-board technical assessment to determine what repairs are needed to make the vessel at least temporarily safe.”
Greenpeace says that the oil should be removed to a seaworthy vessel as soon as possible.
The Arab world is also speaking out
Saudi Arabia urges the UN to push the rebels into letting experts assess damage to a rusting oil tanker.
“During a meeting with the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber stressed the urgent need for experts to access the tanker,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Likewise, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf called upon a team of experts to inspect the FSO Safer oil tanker in Yemen to avoid a serious environmental disaster.
Till now, the rebels have not shown any sign of changing their position to let the inspections aboard the vessel.
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Source: The Maritime Executive
