Thank you, Mr. President.
The risk of a massive oil leakage from the FSO Safer, a floating single-hull storage and offloading unit, is growing as days pass. Unfortunately, since my briefing of last year, no significant changes have been reported. Risks to the environment and livelihoods of people remain.
An agreement reached with Ansar Allah in November 2020 on the scope of work for assessment of the vessel sent positive signals at that time. However, political and logistical obstacles have impeded implementation of the agreement, and the planned mission has been unable to deploy. As a result, we still do not know the exact condition of the vessel, nor what the best solution would be to deal with 1.1 million barrels of oil in an ageing tanker located in an environmentally sensitive area of the Red Sea.
Mr President,
As I reported last year, the two possible scenarios of a potential spill or explosion would directly affect millions of people, in a country that is already enduring the world’s largest humanitarian emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated efforts to resolve this issue. Entire ecosystems could be damaged, and it would take decades to clean up spilled oil. Economic impacts would also be dire.
It is estimated that up to 670,000 people’s livelihoods could be impacted by a spill and resulting damage to fisheries, marine resources and coastal industries, factory and port closures. The forced closure of Hodeidah and Saleef ports could limit fuel and food imports for 2-3 weeks. 50% of fisheries could be blocked, with an estimated economic cost of around USD 350 million over five years. The livelihoods of 31,500 fishermen would be at risk, and 235,000 workers in the fishing industry would lose their jobs.
The Red Sea area is one of the planet’s most important repositories of biodiversity. It hosts internationally important marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds. Coastal marine environments and particularly mangroves represent 86% of the mangrove cover in the Republic of Yemen, with large extensions of seagrass meadows and coral reefs.[1]
In the event of a fire or explosion, around 8.4 million people in Yemen and 350,000 people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia could be exposed to harmful levels of pollution within 24-36 hours. About 1 million internally displaced people live in areas in Yemen that could be covered by the smoke plume. Vulnerable populations (especially those with heart and lung conditions) could experience severe health impacts.
Although the West coast of Yemen would be the most severely affected, an oil spill could also negatively impact neighboring Red Sea countries and shipping along of the busiest commercial routes in the world.
Mr President,
The UN system is working to support readiness, contingency and response planning, in case of an oil spill. We have made good progress on this track, especially in setting up coordination mechanisms as follows:
- The Regional Organisation for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA), with support from UNEP and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), developed the regional contingency plan with the participation of PERSGA’s member states. Together, we have established a Coordination Committee to coordinate regional and international assistance in the event of a significant oil spill from FSO Safer. The committee aims to support affected countries in mitigating damage caused by a spill. The Committee has prepared Standard Operating Procedures in case of a spill, clarified the mandates of committee members, and described critical functions in the event of a request for assistance.
- The Government has also established a National Emergency Committee on FSO Safer. There is ongoing review of the National Contingency Plan, with support from PERSGA, UNEP and IMO.
- IMO has recently contracted a company to update “scenarios” in the event of an oil spill from FSO Safer.
These efforts have been accompanied by a series of capacity building workshops on response at the regional and national levels, convened by PERSGA, IMO and UNEP, which covered:
- Development of regional procedures to implement the regional contingency plan and facilitate response efforts;
- National training of the Environment Protection Authority in Yemen on use of oil spill response equipment and dispersants;
- Regional virtual simulation and desktop exercise to test the regional oil spill contingency plan.
Mr. President,
We recognize that while all efforts are being taken by UN agencies and partners, the risk remains, and the situation will deteriorate as delays mount. Even if the response activities were to be initiated immediately after the oil spill, it would take years for ecosystems and economies to recover.[2]
With respect to contingency planning and despite the steps already taken, much more needs to be done. We are concerned, for example, about limited equipment availability, potential insurance issues, and other challenges that need solutions.
Mr. President,
Almost a year has passed since we came together to discuss the growing risk of the Safer oil tanker. I again urge international partners to intensify efforts to address this situation. Making an assessment of the FSO Safer is critical, to give us a better understanding of the risks, and to ensure we can identify the appropriate next steps to reduce such risks.
In tandem with such prevention efforts, we must continue to exert all efforts and work together to plan for an effective response should an oil spill occur.
Thank you.
Executive Director
