In March, United Development acquired crude carrier Nautica has been set to sail to prevent an environmental and humanitarian disaster. The ship is in the process of evacuating millions of barrels of oil from the troubled 47-year-old FSO supertanker.
The supertanker was purchased to remove the oil from an abandoned ship off the coast of the war-torn area of Yemen. This supertanker ship came to an abandoned state after the Yemen civil war broke out in 2015, and it has not received any service since then. After receiving a standard repair on Wednesday with the help of foreign assistance in an emergency, the ship left China on Thursday.
This ship was acquired from the Euronav Company, a larger tanker company. Its structural integrity has deteriorated since its maintenance operations were suspended in 2015 after the supertanker ship had been held by the rebels amidst a civil war at the port of Hodeida.
The Houthis have seized the more significant part of Yemen in a civil war, and there have also been attempts of intervention by the government of the Saudi-led coalition. Reportedly, more than 150,000 people have been killed, and more than 23 million people need aid due to this conflict.
A significant step towards preventing disaster.
The UN has declared it a significant step towards preventing the major spill. This effort was unprecedented for the agency as it addressed a potentially disastrous oil spill on the off-coast. The spokesman has further confirmed that the supertanker ship is anticipated to arrive by early May and would be taking a halt for additional improvements in its technical sphere.
UNDP chief Achim Steiner has issued a statement saying that the next step in the journey after the departure from Nautica is to the Red Sea, and that part is a complex operation where the oil has to be taken from the Safer.
This decaying supertanker has been holding up millions of barrels of crude oil for years.
The UN urges crowdfunding to provide support.
UNDP chief has demanded funds to conduct the operation and fill the gap of $34 million as of April 4 in the already collected budget of $129 million. There has also been the formation of a crowdfunding page for the same to raise an amount of $500,000
Steiner further urged the leaders of the government, the CEOs of the corporations, and any other individual who can contribute and come forward to support the supertanker operation, which is already at the point of reaching a crucial stage. The statement also mentioned the rising cost of VLCCs. There is a requirement for final funding by this month to secure this operation to success and prevent catastrophes.
David Greesely, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, has said technical and political support is available from all sides and added that these ships of crude carriers, like the Nautica, have been impacted by the Ukraine War.
Prevention of ecological catastrophe after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
This purchase has prevented the risk of an environmental and humanitarian disaster. This spill would have impacted the fishing communities in Yemen, on which around 200000 livelihoods are dependent. They would have been exposed to life-threatening toxins, and the air would have also been highly polluted.
This ecological disaster could have clogged the Ban Al Mandan strait between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Unfortunately, this has already taken a significant toll on the global economy by holding up the Suez Canal.
The UN considers it the world’s worst ecological catastrophe. The Safer’s 1.1 million barrels of oil are four times as much as they spilt in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
