Abandoned Tanker in Red Sea Threatens Africa - Trade Bloc IGAD
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) - a trade bloc representing eight African countries - has expressed concern over the potential environmental disaster posed to the Red Sea by the FSO Safer, an ageing vessel moored off Yemen. Experts say the Red Sea ecosystem will severely be affected if the rusting oil tanker, loaded with over a million barrels of crude oil, breaks up or explodes and catches fire. The East African reports that IGAD Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu says an oil slick would exacerbate existing economic and humanitarian crises in Yemen and the region, including IGAD member states on the western shores of the Red Sea. Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia could be directly affected. Dr Workneh called on the international community to "take urgent steps to stabilise the oil tanker, particularly through undertaking urgent repairs, and thereafter offload the oil it carries".
The United Nations says the Safer is a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) oil vessel moored about 8km (4.8 nautical miles) south-west of the Ras Isa peninsula on the west coast of Yemen. It has been permanently anchored at the same location for more than 30 years without any dry-docking or shipyard repairs. The vesseld is legally owned by the national oil company, the Safer Exploration & Production Operation Company. Prior to the escalation of the conflict in Yemen in 2015, the vessel was used to store and export oil from fields around Ma'rib. Houthi rebels are now in control of the massive ship.
A senior UN official told the Security Council in June 2021 that an agreement reached in November 2020 with Houthi forces on the scope of work need to make the vessel secure, had generated hope of a swift resolution. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, said, however, that due to "political and logistical obstacles", the planned assessment mission had yet to deploy. "As a result, we still do not know the exact condition of the vessel, nor what the best solution would be to deal with 1.1 million barrels of oil in an ageing tanker located in an environmentally sensitive area of the Red Sea."
-
East Africa:
IGAD Issues Alert Over Ageing Tanker Abandoned in the Red Sea
East African, 4 August 2021
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) has expressed concern over the potential environmental disaster posed to the Red Sea by the FSO Safer, an aging oil tanker… Read more »
-
Africa:
Yemen: Health, Environment and Economy Remain Under Threat From Stricken Oil Tanker
UN News, 3 June 2021
There has been no further investigation into the state of the FSO Safer, a stricken tanker anchored just 4.8 nautical miles off the Yemen coast, meaning the risk of a massive oil… Read more »
-
Africa:
Questions and Answers About the Safer Oil Tanker in Yemen
UN News, 30 December 2020
1. What is the SAFER oil tanker? Read more »
-
Africa:
Saudi Arabia Woos Horn of Africa States to Protect Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
East African, 11 January 2020
Saudi Arabia's move to pool countries in the Horn of Africa into a co-operation council for the Red Sea and Gulf Aden suggests officials in Riyadh are desperate to pull the region… Read more »
-
Africa:
Stranded Suez Ship Confounds World Uneasy About the Long Haul
ISS, 29 March 2021
The Suez Canal is one of the world's major shipping routes, or at least it was until the Ever Given ran aground on 23 March. The blustery conditions that caused it to veer off… Read more »
InFocus
-
The container ship Ever Given has been dislodged from the Suez Canal where it blocked vessels from navigating the artificial sea-level waterway crucial for international ship Read more »
Map showing the location of Yemen, the Red Sea and East African countries.