The risks of not taking action to avert the environmental disaster posed by the FSO Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen “far outweigh” any potential benefits to the Houthis from the plan announced in March, said UN humanitarian co-ordinator David Gressly on Thursday.
Some donor states had concerns regarding the UN plan to take the Safer off Yemen's waters and replace it with a temporary and then more permanent vessel, Mr Gressley said.
“My counter argument is that not doing something is worse than doing something that'll marginally benefit Sanaa [Houthis],” he told The National by phone from the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
“The bottom line is that in the end the danger of doing nothing far outweighed any other considerations that they had and, like the government of Yemen, they came on board.”
Mr Gressly also said he was “hopeful” that some donors will join the efforts to fund the plan.
The UN had announced that pledges have been made to secure the $75 million emergency operation, which entails replacing the Safer with a temporary vessel and offloading the 1.1 million barrels of oil that threaten millions of livelihoods in and around Yemen.
Scrapping the Safer
Up to now, there is not a solid plan in place for what to do with the oil on board the Safer, or the proceeds from its sale.
But, Mr Gressly says, there is now a clearer understanding on what happens to the vessel once it has been offloaded and cleaned.
“There seems to be no objection to scrapping the vessel and selling it. We estimate at least $20 million net on the sale, perhaps larger.”
“That money is going to be used to offset the operations budget [of the entire operation] of $113 million by at least $20 million,” he said.
Once the remaining funds have been secured for a permanent vessel to replace FSO Safer, agreements can be made on the future of the oil on board the ship, which is technically owned by the Yemeni state oil company but is now run by the Houthi militants who took over the capital Sanaa and its facilities in 2014.
Once the pledged funds are in hand, Mr Gressly said, it will be a matter of weeks before a team is sent to Sanaa and Hodeidah, where ship is moored, and the emergency operation can begin.
“It will be four months once the process begins,” he said.
The plight of FSO Safer has garnered international attention since Mr Gressly became involved. Funding for the operation has come from member states and a private firm, as well as elementary schools and individuals through crowdfunding efforts.
In his address to the General Assembly, Yemen's head of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al Alimi accused the Houthis of using the FSO Safer as a "tool to exert pressure".
He called upon the international community to "ensure free navigation in international waters" in reference to the risk posed by the decaying ship if it were to spill or explode.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
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Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
More coverage from the Future Forum
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The%20specs
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Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
