The United Nations Begins Oil Recovery Operation from Dilapidated Tanker off Yemen Coast

The United Nations has announced that it has commenced the process of recovering oil from the deteriorating giant oil tanker, Saffer, located off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. In a statement released on Tuesday, the United Nations Development Program stated, “The operation aims to remove more than one million barrels of oil from the giant Seifer tanker.”

Aiming to Disarm a Potential Time Bomb

UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the significance of this operation, stating, “The United Nations has begun the process of disarming what is arguably the world’s largest time bomb.” He further added, “There is now a complex operation to transfer a million barrels of oil from the dilapidated ship Safer to a new ship in the Red Sea.” The operation commenced at 10:45 local time, according to the official statement.

Three-Week Operation to Prevent Environmental Disaster

It is estimated that the transfer of 1.14 million barrels of Marib Light oil to the new vessel will require approximately three weeks, equivalent to 19 days. The United Nations aims to eliminate the risk of an environmental catastrophe that could potentially cause around $20 billion in damages. The operation, costing $143 million, has been meticulously prepared for years.

Preventing a Large-Scale Oil Spill

The primary objective of this operation is to prevent a massive oil spill in the Red Sea. The director of the UN Development Program, Achim Steiner, previously stated that “more than 1.1 million barrels of oil stored in the Safer will be transferred to another vessel bought by the UN as an alternative to the rusty storage tanker.” The replacement oil tanker named Yemen, formerly known as Nautika, has arrived to facilitate the UN-coordinated operation.