Dutch Foreign Ministry: The process of transporting oil from "Safer" is very difficult
English - Tuesday 18 July 2023 الساعة 03:45 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The Dutch ambassador of Yemen, Peter Derek Hoff, described the rescue operation of the "Safer" oil ship floating off the coast of Hodeidah as a very difficult operation.
Hof said in a statement published by the Dutch Foreign Ministry: that there are basic engineering political issues as well as the financial challenge in the rescue operation. Adding: The Netherlands bears its responsibility, and has made avoiding an environmental disaster in the Red Sea a priority for it, and for this reason the Netherlands is the second largest donor in the efforts to save Safer.
And the website of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted a statement by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Lesche Schreinmacher, in which she confirmed that there is an opportunity to prevent a serious environmental disaster.
She said: It is my duty to deal with the repercussions of disasters; But in this case we have a chance to prevent a catastrophe, we need quick action to start saving the Safer. Adding: "We now have the funds to start saving the ship. It is clear that all other parties will have to fulfill their commitments as well. The Netherlands is ready to help the United Nations start this process as soon as possible."
In March 2022, the Netherlands announced a contribution of 7.5 million euros to support the United Nations-led Safer Reservoir rescue operation. This amount has now risen to 15 million euros.
According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry statement, the green light was given to Boscales Company to carry out the task of transferring all the oil contained in the Safer ship to a specially equipped tanker. He explained that everyone agrees on one thing, which is to transport the oil from Safer as quickly and safely as possible in order to avoid a huge humanitarian and environmental disaster.
The Dutch salvage company (Boskalis / Summit Salvage), which specializes in dredging and marine services, is responsible for transporting and rescuing the oil from the Safer ship. The company has been preparing for this operation for two years without any of its team setting foot on the ship. This is unique, says CEO Peter Berdovsky.
"When we do a rescue, we usually have days and sometimes hours just to get a picture of the situation on the ship," he added. This time is different. "We do a lot of salvage work around the world, and we don't often have to deal with a ship in worse condition than the Safer," he explains.
The CEO of the Dutch company described the Safer ship as a time bomb. There are 1.1 million barrels of oil on board, and oxygen has been detected in all of its storage tanks. This could cause a massive explosion. "We must not underestimate the terrible condition this ship is in," he said.
"We are constantly assessing the risks. Can we dock our ship safely alongside the Safer? Is the tanker structure strong enough to start pumping? What is the condition of the oil when it comes out of the tanker? We won't know that until the transfer begins," Berdovsky said.
According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry statement, after the green light is given, all the oil will be transferred to a specially equipped tanker. The whistle can then be safely cleaned and withdrawn. It is still uncertain what will be done with the transported oil. Difficult issues must first be resolved in light of the contributions and interests of different countries. But everyone agrees on one thing: the first step is to get the oil from Safer as quickly and safely as possible in order to avoid a huge humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.
The Safer floating ship, a 40-year-old supertanker, is moored about 8 kilometers off the coast of Hodeidah, carrying a huge cargo of oil. Due to years of neglect, the ship's hull has decomposed, threatening a risk of leakage, fire, or even a major explosion, if no action is taken.
The consequences of an oil spill would be massive, with a major impact on the environment, shipping and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people who depend on fishing. The United Nations estimates that in the event of an oil spill into the waters of the Red Sea, it will cost $20 billion to clean up, and it will take another 25 years for fish stocks to recover from an environmental disaster of this magnitude.
The United Nations launched an urgent rescue operation to avert this disaster, and set about $ 145 million, the cost of this operation, which will be implemented in several stages. According to the United Nations, more than $100 million has been collected, while there is still a shortfall of more than $20 million to complete the first phase of the rescue operation.
