The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) set out to strengthen Yemen’s oil spill response capability by supporting contingency planning workshops.
The International Maritime Organization and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Yemen are supporting contingency planning workshops to strengthen Yemen’s oil spill response capability. This is a part of the UN’s coordinated efforts to address the risk of an oil spill from the FSO SAFER moored off the coast of Yemen,
The first workshop took place in Sana, on February, while the second set of workshops were held in Aden in March, focusing on contingency planning and shorelines response management. The workshops were coordinated by UNDP Yemen, funded by IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Program, with technical support provided by IMO.
As informed, the aim of these workshops is to address the current capacity to respond to a spill from FSO SAFER. They assist in clarifying equipment and resource requirements; developing response strategies; and addressing the topic of waste management. The information gathered will serve to identify further training needs for the respective authorities and will allow for the updating of the country’s national oil spill contingency plan.
The United Nations’ senior management has instructed the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, to provide UN system-wide leadership on the FSO SAFER case and coordinate all efforts to mitigate the threat. A UN-coordinated proposal to transfer the oil currently onboard the FSO SAFER to another vessel is under development and has received widespread support.
It is important to recall that Houthis agreed with the United Nations over deal regarding the FSO Safer threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil off Yemen’s coast.
A deal had previously been reached for a technical U.N. team to inspect the deteriorating vessel, built in 1976, and conduct whatever repairs may be feasible, but final agreement on logistical arrangements did not materialize.
Since 2015, no maintenance operations have been carried out, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Houthis after they ousted the internationally recognized government from the capital, Sanaa.
Moreover, as part of United Nations-coordinated efforts to address the risk of an oil spill from the FSO SAFER moored off the coast of Yemen, IMO and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Yemen are supporting contingency planning workshops to strengthen Yemen’s oil spill response capability.
