Note to the media on the UN plan to prevent an oil spill from the FSO Safer

The United Nations official leading the organization’s efforts on the FSO Safer said today that donors have generously pledged all of the $75 million required for the emergency operation to transfer oil from the decaying supertanker to a safe vessel.

The official, David Gressly, who is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, was speaking at a high-level event on the Safer co-chaired by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United States of America, and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Mr. Gressly said reaching the amount needed to implement the emergency operation was a fantastic milestone. It followed the Netherlands announcement that it would increase its pledge to $15 million from $7.5 million.

To begin work on the emergency operation as soon as possible the United Nations needs donors to convert all of the pledges to cash. As of 18 September, $59 million has been disbursed or was in the process of being disbursed. Mr. Gressly said he was hopeful the remaining undisbursed pledges would be converted to cash very soon.

The UN also needs a further $38 million to finish the job with the installation of safe long-term replacement capacity for the Safer.

The revised budget for the two-track plan is $113 million, comprising $75 million for the emergency operation and $38 million to replace the Safer capacity.

The original budget was reduced by $31 million largely because of the adoption of a double-hull vessel tethered to a catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) buoy system as the safe long-term solution. The system is the fastest to implement and most flexible of the three long-term replacement options that were considered.

During the event, Mr. Gressly also thanked the public for contributing $200,000 to the UN plan through crowdfunding and for raising awareness about the Safer.  He thanked the multinational  HSA Group, which was the first private entity to provide a contribution and said that he looked forward to further donations from the private sector.

ENDS

The co-hosts of the event said the following:

The Netherlands

“Normally, as minister, it’s my job to deal with the repercussions of disasters. But in this instance we have a chance to prevent a disaster. The Safer is a ticking timebomb. We need swift action.”

• Liesje Schreinemacher, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

United States

"We are proud that the United States pledged $10 million for the UN Safer project.  Our contribution stands alongside contributions from a range of countries, organizations, and individuals across the globe, representing a broad coalition of partners that understands the importance of preventing an economic and environmental catastrophe from the Safer tanker." 

• Tim Lenderking, Special Envoy for Yemen

Germany

“Thanks to our continued joint efforts, we have a rare opportunity here, to tell a story not often told: the story of how we prevented a catastrophe! With its contribution of 12 million, Germany significantly contributes to this accomplishment. If all parties to the conflict stick to the agreement made to rescue the FSO Safer and the operation is successful, the FSO Safer can go from being a symbol of impending disaster to a beacon of hope for Yemen!”

• Deike Potzel, Director General for Stabilization, Crisis Prevention, Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Assistance