UN Warns of Environmental Time Bomb Off Yemen’s Coast

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations warned Wednesday that an old, neglected oil tanker moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast is at risk of causing an environmental "catastrophe” if its experts cannot immediately attend to the deteriorating vessel.

"Time is running out for us now to act in a coordinated manner to prevent a looming environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe,” Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Program, told a meeting of the Security Council. “Therefore, it is imperative that access be granted to the FSO Safer to assess and inspect the current state of the vessel so evacuation of the oil can be safely done.”

Anderson said the 44-year-old tanker is carrying more than a million barrels of crude oil, which is at risk of leaking or completely spilling into the Red Sea. She said that is four times the amount the Exxon Valdez dumped into Alaska’s Port William Sound in 1989, in what was a catastrophic spill.

The Safer is moored 60 kilometers northwest of Hodeida port. The vessel has not undergone any maintenance during that time.

International access became more urgent at the end of May, when seawater began leaking into the tanker’s engine room. Divers were able to contain the leak, but the fix is only temporary, and it is impossible to say how long it might hold.

The UN said 28 million people would be severely affected if there was a major spill, as it would close the lifeline port of Hodeida for several months, disrupt international maritime routes, contaminate 8,000 water wells, pollute hundreds of miles of farmland and release toxic fumes into the air. Djibouti, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia would also be affected.

“This would also deliver another severe blow to Yemen’s already embattled economy,” said UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, who has warned the Security Council about the situation 15 times previously. “The resulting disruption would substantially accelerate recent trends that are already – once again – pushing the country towards famine.”

UN experts have been asking for access to the vessel for two years in order to assess its safety, do light repairs and eventually tow it to a safe port to remove the oil.