Project profile — FSO Safer Oil Tanker Salvage Operation

• Yemen (100.00%)

• Disaster Prevention And Preparedness: Multi-hazard response preparedness (74020) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (principal objective)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (principal objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project seeks to prevent a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea. It aims to salvage and replace a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen, near the port city of Hodeida. Production and offloading operations, suspended due to lengthy conflict in the area, prevented proper access and maintenance operations. This has resulted in the vessel decaying and loss of structural integrity. The tanker, FSO Safer, is at imminent risk of spilling, breaking apart or exploding. The UN has called on the international community to fund an emergency action plan to remove the oil from the tanker and replace the vessel. Project activities include: (1) providing ship-to-ship transfer of oil from the FSO Safer to the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC); (2) providing tank-cleaning and demucking; and (3) replacing the FSO with a floating CALM Buoy, permanently attached to a VLCC lightly modified to be an FSO.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) averting a humanitarian and environmental disaster that would impact the livelihoods and food security for millions of people in Yemen; and (2) advancing peace efforts in the region by incentivizing parties involved in the Yemen conflict to reach an agreement as part of a formal peace process.

Results achieved at the end of the project (December 2023) include: (1) contracted, mobilized, and deployed salvage assets to the FSO Safer site. Also transferred the oil stored in the FSO Safer tanker to the replacement very large crude carrier. They initiated a bidding process for the towing and green scrapping of the FSO Safer, provided Disaster Risk Reduction training, and established contingency plans at the local and regional levels. These measures averted an oil spill that would have had a devastating impact on the Red Sea’s biodiversity and approximately 12 million Yeminis; and (2) indirectly advanced peace efforts in Yemen by encouraging key political actors and stakeholders involved in the conflict to participate and collaborate. This is done by signing a Memoranda of Understanding with the De-Facto Authorities to address the threats posed by the Safer oil tanker and the need for a replacement. Also obtained assurances through the United Nations normal procedures to put the area around the FSO Safer in a no-strike zone.

• Proactive disclosure