News - Yemen: The Ministries of Transport and Oil have warned of the catastrophic deterioration of Safer Oil Tanker as a result of the suspension of its periodic maintenance work since 2015 as a result of the US-Saudi aggression against Yemen.

The Ministers of Transport, Abdulwahab Al-Durra and Oil, Ahmed Daris, stressed that the current situation of the Safer reservoir is getting worse, which threatens the occurrence of a major environmental disaster that threatens marine life and the environment in the Red Sea region.

They pointed out that the interest and keenness of the revolutionary leadership, the Supreme Political Council and the Salvation Government in the Safer reservoir, through continuous communication with the UN, to find quick solutions to this problem, which is exacerbated by the delay in maintenance work.

They explained that the Safer tank, which holds more than 1.2 million barrels of crude oil, is constantly being eroded due to the lack of necessary periodic maintenance.

Al-Durra and Daris pointed out that Yemen signed an agreement with the UN to carry out maintenance on the reservoir as soon as possible, but the UN did not fulfill its obligations based on the agreement.

The Ministry of Transport and Oil helds the United Nations to be fully responsible in the event of any catastrophic repercussions for the Safer ship.

Earlier, The Supervisory Committee for the Execution of the Urgent Maintenance Agreement and the Comprehensive Evaluation of the Floating Oil Tank Safer, has renewed its strong dissatisfaction with the continued disregard by the United Nations of its obligations towards the reservoir. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) continued to disavow the implementation of the urgent maintenance agreement and the comprehensive evaluation of the floating tank Safer, which was signed in November 2020.

In a statement, the committee warned of the repercussions of the deterioration of the situation of the Safer Reservoir after nearly seven years without any maintenance of the reservoir, which makes the level of an environmental disaster in the Red Sea more significant than ever, which will affect Yemen and neighboring countries for many years.

The UNOPS submitted its implementation plan in violation of the agreement last May; completely ignoring the agreement and its obligations towards the Safer reservoir, despite knowing that the status of the reservoir could no longer tolerate further delays.

While the committee called for the immediate implementation of the agreement, it holds the UNOPS fully responsible for any leak or explosion of the reservoir, and the resulting unprecedented environmental disaster in the Red Sea. "The responsibility to squander the funds allocated to implement the agreement, which the United Nations Office for Project Services refuses to disclose and its fate, despite the multiple demands directed at it to work on the principle of transparency before public opinion."

UN spent more than 3 and a half million dollars out of the maintenance budget of more than 9 million dollars and no work was carried out.