Urgency required in salvaging Safer to prevent further suffering in Yemen

Already in March 2022, Liesje Schreinemacher, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, announced the Dutch contribution of €7.5 million to the project. That amount has since increased to €15 million. Normally, as a minister, I deal with the consequences of a disaster. Now we can prevent a disaster. The Safer is a ticking time bomb. Quick action is needed. It is remarkable that so many countries have pledged financial support. Thanks to our contribution, we have now reached the required amount to start the salvage. The condition is that all other parties keep their promises. The Netherlands wants to help the UN start the operation as soon as possible, she said then.

But what exactly is going on? The Safer is a more than forty-year-old supertanker drifting about 8 kilometers off the coast of Yemen with large amounts of oil on board. Due to prolonged neglect, the ship is in a precarious state, creating a high risk of leaks, fire, or even an explosion. Large amounts of oil could spill into the Red Sea if no action is taken.

The potential consequences of such an oil disaster are hard to imagine for the environment, shipping, and hundreds of thousands of people dependent on small-scale fishing. The UN estimates it will cost over 20 billion dollars to clean up everything and that it would take 25 years for the fish population in the area to recover from such an ecological catastrophe. All these consequences together pose a great humanitarian risk for a country already struggling with food shortages. The UN therefore aims for swift action, working with various countries, including the Netherlands.

The Dutch salvage company Boskalis/SMIT Salvage, specialized in dredging and maritime services, is responsible for securing the oil and salvaging the Safer. The company has been preparing for the salvage for about two years without setting foot on the ship. This is unique, says CEO Peter Berdowski. Normally, in salvage operations, we can get an overview of the situation on board within days or sometimes even hours. This time is different. We conduct many salvage operations worldwide and rarely encounter a ship in worse condition than the Safer, Berdowski explains.

Like Minister Schreinemacher, he also describes the ship as a ticking time bomb. There are 1.1 million barrels of oil on board, and oxygen has been found in all these storage tanks. That could cause a massive explosion. The questionable condition of this ship must not be underestimated.

Boskalis is therefore proceeding cautiously, says Berdowski. It is always a matter of risk management. Can we safely get our own ship next to the Safer? Is the tankers hull stable enough to start pumping? What condition will the oil be in when it comes out of the tanker? We will only know once pumping begins.

The difficulty of the operation is emphasized by Peter-Derrek Hof, the Dutch ambassador to Yemen. This salvage is extremely challenging. There are political issues at stake, it is technically a challenge, and there is also the financial aspect. The Netherlands takes its responsibility, has made preventing a natural disaster in the Red Sea a priority, and is the second-largest donor to the salvage operation.

Now that Boskalis has definitively received the green light, all oil will be pumped into a specially equipped tanker, after which the Safer can be safely cleaned and towed away. What will happen with the oil afterwards remains uncertain. Due to contributions and interests of various countries, decisions still need to be made. But everyone agrees on one thing: first, the Safer must be pumped out as quickly and safely as possible to prevent a humanitarian and ecological disaster of massive proportions.