UN Safely Removes 1 Million Barrels of Oil from Deteriorating Yemeni Tanker


UN Safely Removes 1 Million Barrels of Oil from Deteriorating Yemeni Tanker

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A United Nations agency announced on Friday the successful completion of removing about one million barrels of oil from a deteriorating tanker anchored off Yemen's coast.

Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN's Development Program, which oversaw the oil salvage, stated via Reuters, "It is a major moment of having averted a potentially catastrophic disaster."

For years, UN officials and various activist groups had been warning about the decaying Safer vessel off Yemen's Red Sea coast, which was at risk of rupturing or exploding. Such an event would have severe humanitarian and environmental consequences for the entire Red Sea coastline.

The cargo ship, moored off Yemen for over 30 years, had not received adequate maintenance since the early stages of the war in Yemeni that commenced in late 2014.

"It was literally until the last minutes that we looked at this operation as one that had to ensure the highest degree of preparedness of risk mitigation," Steiner noted, according to the report.

The UN official detailed that the agency had raised over $120 million to fund the operation. This included the procurement of a second ship for fuel transfer and readiness for spill mitigation.

Amidst sea mines, sweltering summer temperatures, and strong currents, the salvage crew took 18 days to conclude the oil transfer in a coastal zone.

"The best end to the story will be when that oil actually is sold and leaves the region altogether," Steiner said.

However, there's still no clear indication of how the oil transaction will be processed. UN officials are set to initiate negotiations with the conflicting groups in Yemen to establish a profit-sharing agreement for the predominantly-owned crude by Yemen's state gas and oil company, SEPOC.

In 2014, the people of Yemen staged a popular uprising against the Saudi-backed regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. The Ansarullah movement took control of the Sana’a-based government on September 21 after widespread protests across the country, followed by Hadi’s escape to Riyadh.

In 2015, an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened to reinstall the previous regime, initiating a protracted bombing campaign. The war, which has been enjoying unstinting arms, logistical, and political support on the part of the United States, has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and turned the entire country into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Yemen’s defense forces, which feature the country’s army and its allied Popular Committees, have, however, vowed not to lay down their arms until the country’s complete liberation from the scourge of the aggression.

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