Rusty Oil Ship off Yemen’s Coast Offloaded, What Is Next?
Sheba Intelligence
The United Nations finished on Friday, August 11, offloading the decaying FSO Safer oil vessel off Yemen’s Hodeida coast, defusing what has been described as a ‘ticking time bomb’ in the Red Sea. The Safer Ship contains over a million barrels of oil and has been stranded since Yemen’s civil war broke out in 2015.
Over the past years, observers have expressed worry over the status of the decaying ship. Its explosion or spill would spark massive environmental damages and wipe out the livelihoods of 200,000 people, besides billions in trade losses.
To avert an ecological calamity from happening, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, led in 2021 the UN System response on the Safer Ship, coordinating all efforts to fend off a potential spill or explosion.
Several nations and companies began donating to rescue Safer Ship, and the donated money reached $129 million. The UN bought Nautica, the replacement ship, for $55 million, and it arrived in Yemen on July 17. However, UN officials say they still require the last $22 million to finish the job.
What is next?
The UN celebrates this achievement with the oil being moved from the stranded ship to Nautica. However, almost everyone in Yemen or anyone following this issue raises important questions: What is next? Where will the replacement tanker go? How will long will it stay in its place? When will the oil be sold? And who will receive its price? Clear answers to these questions are unavailable.
The danger of the disputed oil is not over, and what the UN has done is not a comprehensive solution. The replacement ship will remain in its current place off Yemen’s Hodeida coast and may continue to be there for months or even years.
According to UN reports, “Once the ship-to-ship transfer operation is over, the next step will be the installment of a mooring point attached to the pipeline to which the Yemen (Nautica) can then be safely tethered.”
Gressly said no side so far can be named as the owner of the oil, and discussions to specify the ownership of the oil are underway.
A solution to such a problem is elusive as the oil ship is anchored near the Ras Isa oil terminal, which the Houthis control, whereas the vessel owner is Safer Exploration & Production Operations Company located in government-run Marib city.
The parties to the conflict have taken several years to agree on an offloading mechanism for Safer Ship. Thus, reaching an agreement on selling or getting rid of the oil will also take considerable time.