The UN’s incoming aid chief, Martin Griffiths, on Tuesday said he was considering new ideas for a long-delayed mission to repair an oil tanker stranded off Yemen that could soon spill its load into the Red Sea.
Mr Griffiths, who will soon finish his three-year stint as UN peace envoy to Yemen and replace Mark Lowcock as the body's head of humanitarian affairs, said it was time to break a deadlock with the Houthi rebels who control access to the FSO Safer tanker.
The 45-year-old vessel, which has been stranded eight kilometres south-west of Ras Isa oil terminal since 2015, could rupture at any time.
Such an event could spill 1.1 million barrels of oil and cause a maritime disaster that would be four times worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska.
“In my next job, I’m going to have to take a more accountable role on this … we should also look at what are the options facing us, because this is an endless round of frustration,” Mr Griffiths said.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels approved the UN mission in November, but later changed their minds.
The UN wants engineers to inspect the vessel, carry out light repairs and return later for a more comprehensive job.
But the Houthis want all repairs completed during the first visit, Mr Griffiths said.
This month, UN aid officials said the mission was running out of money because the date had been pushed back so many times.
“You'd be stupid if you didn't look over the horizon and say, ‘Is there a better way to do this?’” Mr Griffiths said.
Iranian officials have offered a “replacement tanker” to satisfy Houthi demands for fuel access, Mr Griffiths said.
“Commercial private sector efforts” offered a “different way” to fix the vessel, although he did not provide details as to how this might be done.
Any major oil spill would hurt tourism, fishing and desalination plants in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti, and impede a shipping lane through which about 10 per cent of global trade travels.
Analysts say the Houthis want the FSO Safer in place to profit from its cargo and future oil sales as well as to increase the risks for any seaborne assault by foreign forces.
Experts are divided on the best way to circumvent Houthi foot-dragging, repair the tanker and avert the looming environmental crisis.
Former UK foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan and Ian Ralby, chief executive of IR Consilium, a maritime security consultancy, are calling for a UN-authorised repair mission backed by western military.
But environmentalists say such a move is too risky.
Britain's UN ambassador Barbara Woodward on Tuesday said that the "perilous situation" off Yemen's coast was "no closer to being made safe".
"This issue is in the gift of the Houthis to deliver," Ms Woodward told the UN Security Council.
"Rather than hiding behind endless bureaucratic hurdles, the Houthis must engage substantively to avoid a potential disaster."
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
HEADLINE HERE
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Mountain%20Boy
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
