UN Expects Unloading of Yemen's Safer Tanker Cargo by Mid-July

This satellite image provided by Manar Technologies taken June 17, 2020, shows the FSO Safer tanker moored off Ras Issa port, in Yemen. (AP)
This satellite image provided by Manar Technologies taken June 17, 2020, shows the FSO Safer tanker moored off Ras Issa port, in Yemen. (AP)
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UN Expects Unloading of Yemen's Safer Tanker Cargo by Mid-July

This satellite image provided by Manar Technologies taken June 17, 2020, shows the FSO Safer tanker moored off Ras Issa port, in Yemen. (AP)
This satellite image provided by Manar Technologies taken June 17, 2020, shows the FSO Safer tanker moored off Ras Issa port, in Yemen. (AP)

The UN expected the process of unloading Yemen's eroding FSO Safer tanker to an alternative vessel will begin in mid-July.

The vessel is holding more than a million barrels of oil and has been moored off the Ras Issa coast in Hodeidah for years. It is in "imminent" danger of breaking up, the UN warned last week.

According to the UN’s operational plan to deal with Safer, the new ship will selected in May and contract details to be completed in July.

At an international conference two days ago, the UN managed to raise $41.5 million in funds for its operational plan. However, the global body estimated that it needs a total of $144 million to implement it.

Around $80 million is urgently needed to implement the emergency operation to eliminate the direct threat and transfer oil from Safer to the temporary ship during the summer.

An official at the Safer Exploration & Production Operations Company, which owns FSO Safer, doubted the plan would succeed.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the UN will face great challenges, most importantly, getting the Iran-backed Houthi militias to follow through with their commitments.

Moreover, the official commented on the UN’s estimation of the funds needed to empty FSO Safer and said that they were exaggerated.

“These sums can be used for major matters, including the resumption of the construction of strategic reservoirs on the land, a project that would have had six months to be completed, had it not been for the war that the Houthis ignited,” the official told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The official also questioned the UN’s decision to rent another vessel to hold FSO Safer’s oil.

The FSO Safer was constructed in 1976 as an oil tanker and converted to a floating storage and offloading vessel a decade later. Safer has not been serviced since 2015.

At 376 meters long, it is among the largest oil tankers in the world. The crude oil it holds is four times the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez, the tanker that caused one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States.



Hamas Sources: Gaza Ceasefire Talks Ongoing Despite Israeli Obstacles

Palestinians in Gaza City wait to receive food aid on Monday (AFP)
Palestinians in Gaza City wait to receive food aid on Monday (AFP)
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Hamas Sources: Gaza Ceasefire Talks Ongoing Despite Israeli Obstacles

Palestinians in Gaza City wait to receive food aid on Monday (AFP)
Palestinians in Gaza City wait to receive food aid on Monday (AFP)

Despite accusations from Hamas that Israel is deliberately placing hurdles in the way of indirect negotiations in Doha aimed at securing a two-month ceasefire, sources within the movement confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that there are ongoing consultations.

Hamas sources said Israel continues to obstruct progress in the Qatar-hosted negotiations, which have been underway for over a week with only limited breakthroughs.

“Each time there is partial progress on some provisions, the Israeli delegation delays discussions on other points and refuses to engage until it receives fresh instructions from officials in Tel Aviv,” the sources explained.

Palestinian negotiators believe this approach is designed to buy time and apply pressure on the Palestinian factions’ team, while ultimately blaming them for any failure of the talks, which are dragging on due to Israel’s contradictory positions.

Humanitarian Aid a Major Sticking Point

The most significant obstacle, according to Hamas, remains Israel’s refusal to commit to a comprehensive withdrawal plan, as well as its insistence on maintaining the current aid delivery mechanism, which Hamas describes as a “death trap” for civilians in Gaza.

The sources said Israel has agreed in principle to allow aid into areas it withdraws from through international organizations. However, the Palestinian delegation is demanding that assistance be delivered under the humanitarian protocol negotiated in January.

This protocol is broader than Israel’s proposals and includes not only food and medical supplies, but also construction materials, equipment to repair hospitals and schools, and goods for the private sector to sell in local markets.

Israel has informed mediators that it reached an understanding with the European Union to allow 500 trucks per day into Gaza, which the Palestinian negotiators welcomed. Still, they insisted on clear guarantees that the deliveries would follow the January protocol without manipulation.

Maps and Withdrawal Timelines

Maps of military positions remain another major sticking point. The Hamas delegation is demanding that any Israeli withdrawal be based on the maps set out in the previous ceasefire agreement and implemented gradually according to a clear timetable.

That January agreement had allowed Israeli forces to remain temporarily in buffer zones around Gaza, ranging from 500 to 1,000 meters wide. The Palestinian side is adamant that troops must not remain inside Gaza itself and that the withdrawal must lead to a complete pullout in a second phase of the agreement.

According to the sources, the negotiators want precise language in each clause to prevent Israel from delaying or avoiding implementation, as has occurred in past agreements.

Waiting for US Pressure

Negotiations have not broken down, and the Hamas delegation believes American pressure will be critical to moving Israel off its current positions.

On Sunday evening, US President Donald Trump expressed hope that the ceasefire discussions would yield concrete results within days.

Later that night, a senior Hamas delegation met with Islamic Jihad leaders to coordinate positions and underscore that any deal must fulfill Palestinian aspirations, above all, ending the war, securing a full Israeli withdrawal, reopening crossings, and launching reconstruction.

Flexibility on the Morag Corridor

Meanwhile, Israel’s Security Cabinet convened Sunday evening to review the possibility of a prisoner swap. According to Channel 12, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers he was interested in reaching an agreement on the hostages, even as Hamas continues to reject Israel’s terms. He warned that fighting could resume after any temporary ceasefire if Hamas does not accept Israel’s conditions for ending the war.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu, once firmly opposed to any pullback from the Morag Corridor. a strategic strip that bisects Rafah and separates it from Khan Younis - is now willing to show some flexibility.

Israeli control of the 12-kilometer corridor would allow it to further fragment Gaza and expand its security buffer zones.