The United Nations (UN) announced this Tuesday afternoon that it has begun a “refrigerating” operation to remove more than one million barrels of oil from the supertanker FSO Safer.
In a statement sent to Rigzone, the UN noted that the rescue support vessel Ndeavor – which is operated by SMIT, a subsidiary of Boskalis, and contracted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) – arrived term the transfer of the oil to another ship-. on site yesterday The UN described the development as a “critical step forward in the operation”.
The Ndeavor crew will inspect the Safer and carry out all necessary work to secure it for the transfer of oil to the replacement tanker Nautica, the UN said, adding that Nautica is due in Djibouti to travel to the site next month coming and receiving the oil. .
The UN said in the statement that the start of the water operation comes after almost two years of political work, fundraising and project development, led by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Yemen, David Gressly.
“Today [Tuesday] marks a critical step in the operation to eliminate the threat posed by FSO Safer,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement from the organization.
“With the maritime rescue support vessel Ndeavor in place, the project can now begin in earnest. This marks the culmination of a great deal of work and coordination between UN agencies, maritime lawyers, oil spill experts and many more,” he added.
“This is a proud moment for the United Nations and for the United Nations Development Program as the implementing partner of the emergency phase of the oil removal project. It is also a clear sign of what the multilateral cooperation and a good example of the importance of prevention”, he continued.
In its statement, the UN warned that the project remains unfunded, noting that $29 million is still needed, including to safely moor the replacement ship to a catenary anchor leg mooring buoy and tow the Safer to a green recycling yard.
“We are once again asking the international community and the private sector to help and support us to close the project’s funding gap so that we can finish what we have started,” Steiner said.
Commenting on the project, Gressly said that “Member States, private companies and the general public have contributed $114 million to stop the Red Sea spill” and highlighted “so many other partners who have provided expertise and advocated this critical operation.”
“I thank you all and I want to recognize SMIT Salvage and the Fahem Group for presenting an initiative in 2021 that became the basis of the project that is being implemented today. [Tuesday],” added.
“This is a great milestone, but we will not rest until the operation is complete. To do this, we rely on generous donors to close the remaining $29 million budget gap,” Gressly continued.
In a statement posted on his Twitter page, Gressly said he was “excited to be in the FSO Safer site aboard the Ndeavor with the Boskalis/SMIT team.”
“After two years of political work, fundraising and development of UNDP projects, the operation on the water begins,” he added.
Excited to be in the place of the #FSOSafer on board the Ndeavour with the Boskalis/SMIT team. After 2 years of political work, fundraising and development of UNDP projects, the operation on the water begins! #StopRedSeaSpill pic.twitter.com/uB0GYTufPw
— David Gressly (@DavidGressly) May 30, 2023
According to a dedicated FSO Safer section of the UN website, the organization has a crowdfunding goal related to the operation of $500,000. As of April 21, 51 percent of that goal had been reached, the site noted.
Boskalis recently announced that, through its subsidiary SMIT Salvage, it had reached an agreement with UNDP for the withdrawal of oil from the Safer FSO. In a statement posted on its site in March, Euronav NV announced that it did signed an agreement with the UN to sell a VLCC as part of a wider salvage operation for FSO Safer. The company noted in the statement that it would provide a “suitable vessel” that would go into drydock for “necessary modifications” and regular maintenance before sailing to the FSO.
In December 2021, UN senior management approved a plan to prevent a spill in the FSO by transferring oil to another vessel and installing long-term replacement capacity., and asked the UNDP to implement it, subject to funding, the latest UN statement highlighted. In that statement, the UN thanked the following donors for their “generous support”:
Germany, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Sweden , Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA, Yemen Humanitarian Fund, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Hayel Saeed Anam & Co., HSA Group, International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP ), Octavia Energy/Calvalley Petroleum, and the Trafigura Foundation.
To contact the author, please send an email andreas.exarcheas@rigzone.com
