Saudi Arabia offers $10m to mitigate threats from ‘Safer’ oil tanker off Yemen
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) announced that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided 10 million US dollars to contribute to confronting the existing threat from the oil tanker “Safer” anchored on the Red Sea coast north of the Yemeni city of Hodeidah.
The center said in a press statement today, that the Kingdom has always supported the efforts of the UN to confront and avoid potential economic, humanitarian, and environmental threats to the oil tanker “Safer” and the repercussions of the oil spill, which may cause a major environmental and navigational disaster that threatens the Red Sea coast, fishing communities, international navigation, and the entry of food, fuel, and life-saving supplies to Yemen, which will exacerbate the humanitarian situation and threaten the countries bordering the Red Sea.
The center emphasized that the Kingdom has warned on multiple occasions that if an oil spill occurs from the “Safer” tanker, which contains more than one million barrels and has been unmaintained since 2015, the world will witness the world’s worst environmental disaster, threatening life underwater, fish wealth, and biodiversity.
The necessity of activating collective action to protect the oceans was highlighted during the commemoration of the UN World Oceans Day, on June 8, 2022, as the oceans are one of the main sources of food and the biggest ally in the face of climate change, and the Kingdom is following international developments in this regard within the framework of the UN.
Several meetings and discussions with the international community were held in this regard to reach the need to support a rescue plan for the Safer tanker, as represented by the King Salman Center for Relief’s desire to stabilize Yemen and support international efforts to find solutions to all that threatens international peace and security.
The Kingdom urges the UN to swiftly take the required steps to avoid oil leakage, transport the oil to a safe location, and profit from it for the benefit of the Yemeni people. It also urges the world community to contribute immediately to this project to avoid a major environmental calamity.
