Recent news that the United Nations has secured the purchase of an oil tanker to receive oil from the decaying FSO Safer in the Red Sea, the UN is re-launching a crowdfunding campaign to fill budget gaps to complete the safe removal of oil from the vessel.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday announced an agreement with Belgian tanker company Euronav to purchase a Very Large Crude Carrier as part of the UN-led operation to transfer over a million barrels of oil from the floating storage and offloading vessel.
The replacement vessel is now in drydock for modifications and regular maintenance before setting sail to the FSO Safer, which is moored approximately nine kilometers off Yemen’s Ras Isa peninsula. The operation is scheduled to kick off in early May.
“The purchase of this suitable vessel by UNDP marks the beginning of the operational phase of the UN-coordinated plan to safely remove the oil from the Safer and avoid the risk of an environmental and humanitarian disaster on a massive scale,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
More details: here.