The head of the Yemeni maritime authority has ruled out a new dispute arising and hindering the process of unloading the FSO Safer, a derelict oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen.
The government and Iran-backed Houthi militias will later agree on the fate of the tanker after unloading it, revealed Mohammed Mubarak bin Aifan to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The two sides will also agree on how to sell the crude oil on board, which exceeds one million barrels, added Aifan, stressing that the process of unloading the tanker is vital to avoid an environmental disaster.
So far, parties have agreed to first unload the ship from its cargo, he said, explaining that emptying the supertanker is what primarily concerns the Maritime Affairs Authority and other concerned government agencies, such as the Public Authority for Environmental Protection.
He confirmed that clearing out the tanker will take place in the first few months of 2023.
He described the mission as “defusing a bomb.” The eroding Safer has long been considered a ticking bomb because it is carrying over 140,000 tons of crude oil and has been left moored off Yemen for years.
If all the oil on board was to spill, the disaster would be four times bigger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
“Things are now only procedural, and they are done within the framework of international organizations and the UN,” Aifan told Asharq Al-Awsat about unloading FSO Safer.
Regarding practical steps, he said arrangements are being made to unload the cargo to another vessel through an international company specialized in this field.
“We are approaching the end of this year, and we hope that this process will go forward smoothly, after which authorities agree on the issue of the value of the shipment, and the issue of disposing of the tanker,” he noted.
