FM Denounces US Statements Regarding ’Safer’ Tanker, Holding Coalition of Aggression Responsible for Any Oil Spill

 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the National Salvation Government denounced what was stated in the US State Department statement regarding the Safer floating storage and its accusation that the authorities in Sana’a are responsible for the leakage from the tanker anchored off the coast of Hodeidah Governorate, west of Yemen.

Eng. Hisham Sharaf stated, in a statement to Saba News Agency, that the authorities in Sana’a had previously requested more than once from the United Nations, its organizations and specialized agencies in Yemen to send an evaluation and maintenance team to the floating oil tank, Safer to assess the situation and perform the required maintenance.

He pointed to the necessity of dealing with this file in a purely environmental and technical manner, noting that previously there were alternatives for dealing with oil stored in the tanker Safer. 

“There was a suggestion to sell the quantity and benefit from it in relief and humanitarian fields, so that the quantity is gradually emptied in order to avoid an environmental disaster at sea, but the position of the coalition of aggression and its bad intentions to use this file led to a delay in arriving at a solution that guarantees its completion in a safe technical and professional form,” he said.

Minister Sharaf pointed out that the National Salvation Government had repeatedly warned, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its memos to the Security Council and many other countries and parties concerned, about the possibility of a leakage from the floating tank as a result of the ship’s worn out and the aggression’s prevention to carry out any maintenance for years.

He pointed out that it is the forces of the aggressive coalition that impose a blockade applied to Yemen by land, sea and air and prevent access to the tanker Safer or even the maintenance of it.

The Foreign Minister once again held the countries of the aggression fully responsible for any oil spill from the tanker Safer or trying to use this file in any reckless aggressive military action. He explained that this will lead to the largest oil leakage in the world and severe environmental repercussions that will harm Yemen and primarily the countries of the region.

The coalition of aggression is refusing the entry of the technical team entrusted with maintenance work according to the United Nations, to carry out the maintenance of the tanker Safer. This threatens an imminent environmental disaster due to an oil spill that may reach the Mediterranean and the Arabian Seas.

The Safer, once Yemen’s main oil export facility, is a floating storage and offloading vessel moored about 50 kilometres north-west of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, the entry point for most of the  country’s humanitarian aid and imports. It contains more than 147 million barrels of crude oil and has had no maintenance for nearly five years, allowing explosive gases to build up in its storage tanks.

The Safer found itself with its large crew in a state of siege within the massive siege imposed on Yemen, which caused the suspension of its activity and then prevented the supply of the necessary fuel for its operation.