Yemen is facing a severe humanitarian crisis caused, among other things, by 7 years of war. Another problem for the country is the stranded oil tanker Safer, which has been stuck in the Red Sea since 2015.
Now the situation is worsening and all the oil from the tanker could leak into the sea. This might leak up to 4 times more oil than the great Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster off Alaska in 1989. If the oil were to leak, the UN says the clean-up costs could be as high as $20 billion.
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The situation is being addressed by the UN, which is trying to secure the necessary $80 million in funding to safely remove the tanker. At the moment, it has raised over $60 million, which means that it still has some money to raise, which is why efforts are being made to involve the private sector.
Yemen’s largest oil company has pledged funds
Yemen’s largest private company, HSA Group, will provide $1.2 million for the initial unloading of a tanker that is expected to hold slightly over 1 million barrels.
HSA Group is making its $1.2m donation to the #FSOSAFER appeal to support international efforts to prevent a disaster that would tip Yemen further into crisis and impact the wider Red Sea region.
— HSA Group (@HSAGroup_Global) August 25, 2022
HSA’s general manager of Yemen operations said.
“With large amounts of funding still missing and time running out, HSA believes the private sector must step in.”
In addition to private companies, a crowdfunding drive is being held in which $142,000 was raised. That was launched in June and another is set to launch at the end of this month. However, the original goal was to raise $5 million, far more than was raised.
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The UN is also asking donors who have pledged funds to disburse them promptly, and others who can contribute to do so as soon as possible.
It is also hoped that HSA’s announcement of the contribution will motivate other companies to help avert a potential environmental disaster. However, many companies are struggling with their operations because of the aforementioned humanitarian crisis.
The Netherlands warmly welcomes the 1.2 m USD donation of @HSAGroup_Global to the UN-coordinated plan to prevent the imminent #FSOSAFER oil spill off the coast of #Yemen.
This first private sector donation is an important step in preventing one of the world's largest oil spills. pic.twitter.com/5Y4Q5wdtg2
— Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇳🇱 (@DutchMFA) August 26, 2022
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