May 16, 2023
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Greenpeace on Wednesday urged the Arab nations to build funds to rescue a stranded and oil-filled tanker that has been rusting off Yemen, threatening a major ecological disaster.
The environmental group mentioned that an urgent discussion was required for the FSO Safer after a UN pledging conference held last month fell way short of the target of $80 million.
The UN has warned that the 45-year-old, decaying tanker, used as a floating storage platform for a long and abandoned off the port of Hodeida, holds about 1.1 million barrels of oil. It is at the risk of breaking up.
Ghiwa Nakat, the Greenpeace executive director for the North Africa and Middle East, urged the Arab League’s secretary-general to conduct an urgent meeting and make efforts to fund plans to rescue the Safer before it gets too late and before a disaster strikes.
Nakat said it is deplorable that the Safer crisis is yet to be solved owing to the lack of sufficient financial support.
The Safer is loaded with oil four times the amount that had been spilled during the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which is one of the worst ecological catastrophes in the world, per the UN.
Environmentalists have warned the cost of funds required to conduct the operation is a pittance when compared to the estimated amount of $20 billion required to clean up an oil spill in the Red Sea.
The UN has reportedly mentioned that the oil spill could impair ecosystems, shut down the whole fishing industry, and shut down Yemen’s Hodeida port for about six months.
Press release
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