Safer Oil Tanker Official Underlines Need to Unload Decaying Ship

The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen
The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen
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Safer Oil Tanker Official Underlines Need to Unload Decaying Ship

The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen
The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen

A senior official at the Safer Exploration & Production Operations Company (SEPOC) cast doubts on the ability of international donors and the United Nations to manage the operating expenses of the "Safer" oil tanker should they succeed in restoring the decaying ship.

SEPOC owns the derelict oil tanker that is moored north of Yemen’s main port of Hodeidah.

Explaining that the true challenge lies in operating "Safer" after maintenance is over, the official stressed the need to first unload the oil onboard the rundown ship to avoid an environmental catastrophe.

The Safer oil tanker is laden with some 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and has been stranded with no maintenance since early 2015, soon after the Iran-backed Houthi militias staged their coup in Yemen.

Left to deteriorate, the tanker threatens a grave environmental catastrophe in case of a leak or an explosion taking place.

UK Ambassador to Yemen Michael Aron warned that Houthis continue to reject granting UN experts access to the ship as they are exploiting the tanker’s dire situation to blackmail and pressure the international community.

Speaking under condition of anonymity, the SEPOC official confirmed that the UN and international donors have no plans for operating Safer after concluding its maintenance.

“In the event that maintenance is completed, the tanker needs operations to maintain it, and this requires costs and capabilities. If these capabilities were available to us, we would not have reached this dangerous stage,” the official told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had confirmed that his country would play a positive and constructive role in the UN Security Council to reach an appropriate proposal for resolving the conflict over the tanker.

In a written message to the speaker of the Arab Parliament, Meshaal Al-Salami, the Chinese diplomat relayed China’s understanding of the dangers posed by Safer and his willingness to address the issue in the Security Council.

Houthi militias have been holding the tanker hostage since 2015 and not allowing any teams onboard to perform maintenance works.



US Aid Cut Threatens Thousands of Sudanese with Starvation and Death

Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
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US Aid Cut Threatens Thousands of Sudanese with Starvation and Death

Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)
Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts. (Reuters)

The freezing of US humanitarian assistance has forced the closure of almost 80% of the emergency food kitchens set up to help people left destitute by Sudan's civil war, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

Last month, the administration of US President Donald Trump administration abruptly suspended all US aid to determine whether it was “serving US interests,” and moved to begin dismantling the US government's development organization (USAID).

Aid volunteers said the impact of Trump's executive order halting contributions from USAID for 90 days meant more than 1,100 communal kitchens had shut.

The kitchens are run by groups known as emergency response rooms, a grassroots network of activists who stayed on the frontlines to respond to the crises in their neighborhoods.

“People are knocking on the volunteers' doors,” says Duaa Tariq, one of the emergency room organizers. “People are screaming from hunger in the streets.”

Most of the kitchens had closed, she said. Some are trying to get food on credit from local fishermen and farmers, but very soon “we expect to see a lot of people starving.”

It is estimated that nearly two million people struggling to survive have been affected by the US decision.

It is a “huge setback” says Andrea Tracy, a former USAID official who has set up a fund, the Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition, for private donations to the emergency rooms.

The Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition fund will do what it can to plug the gap left by USAID, Tracy said.

The conflict between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and left many facing famine since it erupted in April 2023.

More than 25 million Sudanese are facing high levels of acute food insecurity across the country, according to UN estimates.