SAFER Salvage Operation Project

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel Safer is moored in the Red Sea approximately 8 kilometres off the coast of Yemen. Due to the political situation in the region, UN specialists have not been able to examine the condition of the vessel, but according to expert estimations the risk for oil spill is imminent. A spill could imply up to 186 000 m3 of oil along Yemen's Red Sea coastline and to the Gulf of Aden, which would cause a wast environmental and humanitarian catastrophy. The goal of the UN-led salvage operation is to prevent a serious oil accident in the Red Sea. The aim is to transfer the oil to a safe VLCC-vessel (Very Large Crude Container) and to establish conditions for the disposal of the FSO Safer once a longer-term storage solution has been agreed. Finland's contribution to the UNDP-administered Safer salvage operation in Yemen is 1 MEUR. The overall budget for the operation is approximately 83 MUSD.