Mystery shrouds the fate of FSO Safer, an aging oil tanker moored off the west coast of Yemen, after a UN plan to transfer around 1.1 million barrels of crude oil onboard the derelict vessel to a new tanker faltered due to a lack of funding.
The FSO Safer, owned by the Yemeni government, has been floating at sea without any maintenance since the terrorist Houthi militia took control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in September 2014.
According to experts, the vessel, which is holding more than a million barrels of oil, has been described as a “time bomb” because it is at risk of causing a major spill, either from leaking, breaking apart or exploding.
A Yemeni source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the failure of the UN plan so far may be due to a lack of funding to purchase a new tanker. The UN had planned to transfer the oil onboard FSO Safer into another tanker to prevent an environmental disaster in the Red Sea.
“It seems that they need additional financing to buy a new tanker, prices have gone up and they didn't expect it,” said the source who requested anonymity.
Houthis accused the UN of failing to implement its commitments according to an agreement concluded in March 2022. According to the agreement, the UN would unload FSO Safer after bringing an alternative ship to hold the oil.
A Houthi official accused the UN of “deliberately placing the floating reservoir as it is, to request more funding from donor countries despite obtaining the required amount of $85 million.”
The Houthis are using the oil tanker to blackmail the international community, the Arab Coalition and the Yemeni government, a Western diplomat confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The total cost of the UN plan to counter the threat of FSO Safer spilling stands at $ 144 million, including $ 80 million that are urgently required for the initial four-month emergency operation.
