The UN has begun pumping oil from the decaying FSO Safer tanker that has been abandoned for eight years off the coast of Yemen, and moored there since the 1980s.
The 47-year-old Safer contains 1.1 million barrels of oil. It was left to the elements after the war between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels broke out in 2014.
Private company Smit Salvage said this week it would pump the oil from the Safer to the Nautica, a supertanker the UN bought for the operation, then tow away the empty tanker.
“A complex maritime salvage effort is now under way in the Red Sea off the coast of war-torn Yemen to transfer one million barrels of oil from the decaying FSO Safer to a replacement vessel,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
The Safer has for years been at risk of breaking up or exploding. Experts have warned that a major spill from the vessel would result in an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe four times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 and destroy reefs, coastal mangroves and other sea life in the Red Sea while affecting Yemen's access to food, fuel and aid.
Additionally, clean-up operations would cost about $20 billion and fish stocks would need 25 years to recover, the UN estimated.
“In the absence of anyone else willing or able to perform this task, the United Nations stepped up and assumed the risk to conduct this very delicate operation,” Mr Guterres said.
“With the UN in the lead the world has pulled together to avoid a nightmare scenario that has been talked about for the last eight years,” David Gressly, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, told reporters in New York from the bridge of the Endeavour vessel overseeing the transfer.
He said the transfer of the oil from the Safer that began on Tuesday “is not the end of the operation”.
“The installation of a calm buoy to which the replacement vessel will be safely tethered is the next crucial step. I thank donors, private companies and the general public for providing the funds that have brought us to this milestone,” Mr Gressly said.
For every barrel of oil pumped off the Safer, “the threat of a potential spill … recedes,” UNDP said.
“The challenges on this project have been huge but the response by so many who have made this rescue operation possible has been equally huge. And it is a reminder of what the United Nations can achieve through its convening power and its capacity to co-ordinate a complex operation,” UN Under Secretary General and UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said.
The oil transfer is expected to take 19 days to complete. Then the oil, which is majority owned by Yemeni state firm SEPOC, might be sold.
What's next for the Safer?
Speaking to The National, former chairman of Yemen's Environment Protection Authority, Abdelkader Al Kharraz, said it is unlikely that the Nautica will set sail once the oil is fully transferred, especially after the ship's handover to “the people of Yemen”, according to Mr Gressly.
“Until we see the Nautica leave Ras Issa after the oil has been loaded on to it and off the Safer, I worry that we may have just prolonged an existing problem. But instead of keeping 1.1 million barrels of oil on a decaying ship, we're keeping it on a 15-year-old vessel instead.”
The rusting Safer tanker is a Japanese-made vessel built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in the 1980s to store up to three million barrels of export oil pumped from fields in Marib, a province in eastern Yemen.
The ship is 360 metres long with 34 storage tanks.
The tanker is moored 6km from Yemen’s western Red Sea ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa, a strategic area controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who are at war with the internationally recognised government.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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The biog
Favourite film: The Notebook
Favourite book: What I know for sure by Oprah Winfrey
Favourite quote: “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness” Nelson Madela. Hometown: Emmen, The Netherlands
Favourite activities: Walking on the beach, eating at restaurants and spending time with friends
Job: Founder and Managing Director of Mawaheb from Beautiful Peopl
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Oppenheimer
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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'How To Build A Boat'
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How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
