The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells RTL News that the ship will be on the road for a week.
The tanker, the FSO Safer, has been described as a ticking time bomb. It is an almost 400 meter long floating storage facility, with 150 million liters of crude oil in its hull. The ship is in poor condition and in danger of falling apart or exploding. That could cause a huge environmental disaster.
Thousands of fishermen from Yemen, but also from other countries in the area, will lose their source of income. In addition, international shipping will also be affected, because the tanker is on the route to the Suez Canal. Reporter Floor Bremer previously visited Yemen and spoke to Minister Schreinemacher there:
The United Nations says the ship is en route from Djibouti. The pump-out operation would can start next week. The ship was already stabilized at the end of May.
Once the tanker has been pumped empty, the ship can be cleaned and towed away. What will happen to it after that is not yet known, says Foreign Affairs.
The Netherlands previously pledged 7.5 million euros for the disposal, which is being coordinated by the United Nations. A total of 80 million euros was needed to start the salvage operation. Sufficient money had been raised with the extra contribution from the Netherlands.
2023-07-15 20:31:54
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