The United Nations reported that the process of transferring one million barrels of oil from a deteriorating super-tanker off the coast of war-torn Yemen is progressing smoothly.
As of the third day of the rescue operation, 223,000 barrels of oil have been safely unloaded from the Safer tanker to a replacement tanker, accounting for approximately 20% of the total.
The Safer, originally built as a supertanker in 1976 and later converted into a floating oil container, has been anchored around 4.8 nautical miles off the coast of Al Hudaydah Governorate in Yemen.
It currently holds an estimated 1.14 million barrels of light crude. However, its operations were halted in 2015 due to the ongoing conflict between Houthi rebels and the pro-Government coalition in Yemen, leading to significant deterioration in the tanker’s structural integrity.
The tanker’s systems, crucial for pumping inert gas into the vessel, ceased functioning in 2017, rendering it beyond repair.
The deteriorating condition of the tanker poses a serious environmental risk to Yemen and the Red Sea region, as the war-torn country lacks the capacity to manage a potential massive oil spill. Such an incident could have devastating consequences on the marine ecosystem and the economy of the area, which is home to vital shipping lanes.
