FSO Safer saga enters endgame with launch of UN-coordinated oil-removal operation

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Updated 04 June 2023
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FSO Safer saga enters endgame with launch of UN-coordinated oil-removal operation

Decaying vessel FSO Safer is moored off the coast of Ras Issa, Yemen, prior to the start of an operation led by the UN
  • Crude carrier docks near decaying vessel off Yemen’s Red Sea coast to begin a complex recovery mission
  • UN officials say operation’s progress is good news for people, environment and idea of multilateralism

NEW YORK CITY: Unless there are complications, the transfer of crude from the FSO Safer, an oil-storage vessel stricken off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, will be complete within 10 to 14 days, David Gressly, the UN resident coordinator for Yemen, told Arab News.

Speaking via VideoLink on Tuesday from aboard the Ndeavor, a crude carrier recently purchased by the UN for its operation, Gressly said that an additional $14 million was needed “immediately” and a remaining total of $29 million to complete the operation and eliminate the ecological threat.

The Ndeavor left Djibouti on Monday and docked at Yemen’s Hodeidah port before proceeding to the Safer’s offshore mooring on Tuesday, where it will begin the delicate process of removing 1.1 million barrels of oil, which are at considerable risk of spilling into the sea.

Once this ticking ecological time bomb has been secured, saving Red Sea ecosystems and fishing communities up and down the coast from almost certain disaster, the Ndeavor will tow the Safer to a “green scrapping yard.”

Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN Development Programme, which is leading the operation as part of a UN-coordinated initiative, called it a “very special day (and) a truly critical milestone for those who have been following the saga of the FSO Safer for years.”




The support vessel Ndeavor en route to the Red Sea after UNDP and Boskalis signed the contract for the company's subsidiary SMIT Salvage to transfer 1.1 million barrels of oil from the decaying FSO Safer to a replacement vessel. (Supplied)

The Ndeavor’s arrival is “simply one more step in a very critical complex operation, but it’s a great signal both for the people and the planet, really, in Yemen, in the Red Sea, but also for this idea that multilateralism, in this moment the UN, truly is illustrating what it means to take preventive action,” Steiner said.

“Nothing could be a more drastic illustration of what it means to stop this catastrophe potentially from happening. And doing so at the fraction of the cost that it would take to clean up an oil spill of this magnitude.”

The 47-year-old Safer has had little or no maintenance since the war in Yemen began in 2015 and has deteriorated to such an extent that experts fear it is in imminent danger of springing a leak, catching fire, or exploding.

The UN has warned that a spill could be four times bigger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off the coast of Alaska, which is considered the world’s worst oil spill in terms of environmental damage.

Experts estimate a major leak from the Safer could severely damage Red Sea ecosystems upon which around 30 million people depend for a living, including 1.6 million Yemenis, according to the UN.

Such a spill would devastate fisheries along Yemen’s west coast and destroy livelihoods in fishing communities, many of which are already dependent on humanitarian assistance in order to survive owing to the war.




Staff of a vessel in charge of unloading oil from the decaying vessel FSO Safer are pictured off the coast of Ras Issa, Yemen, prior to the start of an operation led by the United Nations to avoid an oil spill in the Red Sea. (AFP)

A spill could also disrupt commercial shipping on the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways, which accounts for 10 percent of all global trade, and could adversely affect littoral states, including Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

If a fire broke out aboard the rusting vessel, more than 8.4 million people could be exposed to toxic pollutants.

The salvage operation has been split into two phases. First, the oil will be transferred to a replacement tanker, Nautica, before it is then moved to a permanent storage facility until the political situation in Yemen allows for it to be sold or moved elsewhere.

Although the Ndeavor’s arrival at the site of the Safer marks an important milestone, Gressly was quick to call this “just the first step of the operations,” adding that many steps remain before the work is finished.

“We need to get the (Safer) prepared for the transfer of oil (and) bring in the new vessel to receive the oil,” he said.

“We need to detach the old vessel, tow it away for scrapping, and then bring in a lay that will be used to attach the new vessel to the pipeline. Until all four pieces are complete, we really won’t have a fully secure oil storage and protection for the environment.”




Decaying vessel FSO Safer is moored off the coasts of Ras Issa prior to the start of an operation led by the UN to unload it, in the Red Sea. (AFP)

Gressly highlighted the “very volatile environment that we’re working in, politically and security-wise,” adding that it would be “naive to believe that we’d be able to do all of this without any hiccup or obstacle.”

However, “we have so far been able to overcome every obstacle that has come our way,” he said, thanking the Yemeni government for its support.

“Even though the parties are in conflict, the fact that they see the greater danger and greater belief to contribute that they put in $5 million of their own funding to this project, I think shows how everybody can come together to confront a common threat,” he said.

Gressly thanked Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Germany, the US, the UK, the EU, and 19 other states for their contributions. He also thanked Djibouti for hosting the operation, various firms that contributed to the UN effort, and the “very significant contribution of Egypt’s Suez Canal authorities, which have provided free passage for the Ndeavor.”

Indeed, reaching this point has been an extremely long slog, with political and financial barriers along the way. “Often people ask why is it taking so long,” Steiner said.

IN NUMBERS

* 1.1 m Barrels of oil stored aboard the FSO Safer.

* $114m Money raised by UN for salvage operation.

* $29m Money needed to complete the operation.

* 30 m People who might have been affected by a leak.

“Let me tell you, with the arrival of the Ndeavor, we mark an extraordinarily intense process of trying to first of all, in the negotiations led by David (Gressly) in Yemen with all the parties concerned, to create the conditions and an agreement within which we could actually mount such a salvage operation.”

Then the team had to mount “a major fundraising operation that leads us to, at this point in time, having almost secured the majority of the funding — the total cost for the two phases or the two parts of this operation are about $142 million.

“For the emergency phase, which is literally to get the oil off the FSO Safer, we are still missing $14 million, and this is something that we are trying desperately to secure in the next few days in order to be able to complete that phase.

“We had also to secure a large vessel that is essentially uniquely built for the purpose of transporting oil, and in today’s marketplace that proved almost impossible. Prices have doubled and vessels were unavailable.

“We finally managed to secure one and purchase it even though we were not yet clear whether we could get all the funding.”




Left: Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN Development Programme; Right: David Gressly, the UN resident coordinator for Yemen. (Supplied)

In order to source the required funding, “enormous and complex preparatory steps had to be taken over the last few months from actually finding your shipbroker, maritime lawyers, oil spill experts, developing contingency plans, security plans, and negotiating insurance policies,” said Steiner.

“In fact, we completed only on Friday evening at midnight the negotiation of the necessary insurance policy package, which then allowed us to immediately give the signal for the Ndeavor to depart early Monday morning sunrise from Djibouti and arrive there (on Tuesday).”

Asked by Arab News why the relatively meager sum needed for the salvage operation had proven so difficult to raise, Steiner said: “There are certainly, in the corporate world and in the sectors from shipping to oil and gas, extraordinary moments of profitability. And I think this is one reason why we also had hoped that there would be a stronger stepping forward. 

“Having said that, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers has pledged $10 million and we are working the phones right now. Let’s say to CEOs: ‘Come on. We have to close this gap right now.’ Even school children in Maryland have donated to this. It would be truly an ironic and missed opportunity not to step up.”

It was not only the matter of funding that held up the operation. For years, the Houthi militia, which controls whole swathes of Yemen, including Hodeidah, had been causing delays, preventing experts from assessing the condition of the Safer and making emergency repairs.

The militias repeatedly made new demands focusing on logistics and security arrangements.

“We understand that many member states, including donors to the project, are extremely concerned by these new delays. We, of course, share those concerns,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told a press briefing in 2021.




The support vessel Ndeavor en route to the Red Sea after UNDP and Boskalis signed the contract for the company's subsidiary SMIT Salvage to transfer 1.1 million barrels of oil from the decaying FSO Safer to a replacement vessel. (Supplied)

Frustrated is not the right word for how negotiators feel, he said at the time, adding: “I think ‘increased worry’ is the right expression.

“We’ve been talking about this for two years now. By the grace of God, there has not been a major leak. The more we wait, the chances of a major leak are increasing. Time is not on anyone’s side.”

Gressly says that ever since the Houthis signed an agreement with the UN in March 2022, they have been cooperating. “I am confident they will continue to honor that (agreement),” he told Arab News.

And although the Houthis are not involved in the direct implementation of operations, they are involved “in securing the perimeter. They’re involved in discussions with us on how this will be done. And they are very much involved in the details as well.

“We’ve worked in great detail over the last few weeks with them to go through each of the steps so that they’re comfortable with everything. They have their own technical experts as well. Good expertise, actually, both in Aden and Sanaa.”

Gressly paid tribute to the crew — “probably poorly paid and supported” — that has kept the Safer afloat for the past several years.

“In fact, we met one of them today. And I had to congratulate him as one of the unsung heroes of the FSO Safer because they’ve been keeping this thing afloat while we figured out how to organize this kind of rescue.”


Lebanon education bosses move to ban book with Israeli flag on cover

Lebanon education bosses move to ban book with Israeli flag on cover
Updated 6 sec ago
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Lebanon education bosses move to ban book with Israeli flag on cover

Lebanon education bosses move to ban book with Israeli flag on cover
  • Legal measures planned against those who committed fraudulent copying, printing, and distortion of textbook

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Ministry of Education has warned schools in Lebanon against adopting copies of the book “National Education and Civic Upbringing” with the Israeli flag on its cover.

The book, which was reprinted by an unidentified publishing house for sale in the markets, had a picture of the UN building printed on its cover with the Israeli flag appearing among the flags of other countries.

The ministry monitored the copying and reprinting of textbooks issued by the Educational Center for Research and Development, including “National Education and Civic Upbringing.”

However, printing and distribution of official schools is restricted to the Educational Center for Research and Development based on the constitution and the Taif Agreement.

The press office of Education Minister Abbas Al-Halabi said that he had decided to take legal measures and prosecute “all those who committed fraudulent copying, printing, and distortion of the unified education textbook and violated the exclusive right of the Educational Center for Research and Development to reproduce the national textbook series.”

The minister called on the security authorities to take action to prevent this, which was mainly caused by the economic conditions, the decline in the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar, and the failure of any company or publishing house to participate in the tenders designated for printing the national book.

Dr. Hiam Ishaq, head of the Educational Center for Research and Development, told Arab News that legal prosecutions had previously taken place against publishing houses that produced textbooks illegally some time ago, and warnings and rulings were implemented against them.

However, the owner of this publishing house repeated the violation — this time with a grave error related to the existence of an Israeli flag on the cover of the book.

The preparation of the textbook is subject to educational specifications stipulated in the documents of the Educational Center for Research and Development.

Dr. Ishaq said that the National Education textbook ranges from the first grade of basic education to the high school grade.

 “The National Educational Center for Research and Development announces tenders for applicants from publishing houses wishing to print the textbook and the Ministry of Education buys it from them,” Ishaq said.  

“But with the collapse of the Lebanese pound, and the fact that the state deals in the Lebanese pound only, no publishing houses applied this year to print the textbook.

“Previously, UNICEF printed textbooks for the past two years, but it informed us that this year it had no budget for this matter.

“It used to ask students in public schools who received textbooks for free to recycle them by giving them to students who would move to the same grade, with the exception of practical books that could not be recycled.

“In light of the chaos, publishing houses decided to print the textbooks and sell them, and this is against the law and violates intellectual property and the legal right to production.”

According to Ishaq, the National Educational Center for Research and Development is turning to the e-book for publication— a project that has moved to the application stage.

“The problem lies in the fact that not all public-school students have a device to use this application, and we may resort to a PDF version of the lessons required of the students.”

 


Aswan governorate launches tourism app for ‘the best winter resort in the world’

Aswan governorate launches tourism app for ‘the best winter resort in the world’
Updated 41 min 4 sec ago
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Aswan governorate launches tourism app for ‘the best winter resort in the world’

Aswan governorate launches tourism app for ‘the best winter resort in the world’
  • Attia claimed that Aswan is “one of the best governorates in the field of tourism, and the best winter resort in the world”
  • The new app, he explained, allows tourists to access “all necessary information, such as tourist places, hotels, and hospitals”

CAIRO: The Egyptian Governorate of Aswan in Upper Egypt has rolled out a new app to serve tourists.
According to Aswan Gov. Major General Ashraf Attia, the application been well-received so far. “It has significantly contributed to facilitating (tourists’) trips, saving both time and effort,” he said in a video published by the Information and Decision Support Center of the Council of Ministers and on his official Facebook page.
Attia claimed that Aswan is “one of the best governorates in the field of tourism, and the best winter resort in the world.”
The new app, he explained, allows tourists to access “all necessary information, such as tourist places, hotels, and hospitals.”
He continued: “The reaction we have received from tourists who have downloaded the application has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly during meetings with tourists in floating or fixed hotels, or during tours. The program has achieved great success.”
Bassem Halaqa, the head of the Tourism Workers Syndicate, highlighted the assistance the application has provided to Russian tourists, who currently make up the majority of visitors to Egypt, saying it had “significantly eased navigation” around Aswan.
“It underscores the importance of Russian tourists in supporting and revitalizing the tourism sector due to the close geographical proximity between Russia and Egypt, the availability of economical flights, and balanced prices for the services they receive,” he said.
Halaqa noted that Russia is cold for most of the year, and Egypt serves as a “warm haven” for Russian tourists.
“They particularly enjoy Aswan and the beaches of the Red Sea in Hurghada or Sharm El-Sheikh,” he said. “Some (like) to take day trips to visit the antiquities in Aswan and Luxor or travel to Cairo and Giza.”
Halaqa said that proposals to allow closed residential buildings to be converted into hotels are currently under consideration at the Ministry of Tourism. The initiative will focus not only on luxury tourism, but on two- and three-star accommodation as well, he added.


US exhibit of sphinx with African features angers Egyptian experts

US exhibit of sphinx with African features angers Egyptian experts
Updated 48 min 1 sec ago
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US exhibit of sphinx with African features angers Egyptian experts

US exhibit of sphinx with African features angers Egyptian experts
  • An exhibition at the Leiden Museum in the Netherlands recently caused a stir by linking hip-hop music with pharaonic coffins and statues, aiming to show the influence of ancient Egypt on artists of African descent

CAIRO: A statue of a sphinx featuring a head with African characteristics has sparked anger in Egypt after it was placed on display at a leading US museum.

The installation, crafted by American artist and activist Lauren Halsey, is on show at the Metropolitan Museum in New York as part of an exhibit that opened in April 2023 and is due to close in October.

Leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass described the sculpture as “a distortion of history and a complete falsification.”

“It is a shame that the museum, which is well-versed in the history of Egypt, allowed its trustees to carry out this farce,” he told Arab News.

Mahmoud Darwish, professor of archaeology at Minya University, said: “Unfortunately, there has been no move to address the controversy.”

The 36-year-old Halsey plans to display the artwork at various locations in the US, Darwish added.

Hussein Dakil, an archaeology expert, said the controversy raises questions about the “cloning” of ancient artifacts.

He said the practice violates Egyptian law, but cannot be enforced internationally.

However, Dakil said that international agreements such as the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention could offer a framework for resolving such issues.

“Countries, including Egypt, can demand compliance with the UNESCO convention, offering a potential solution for removing and preventing such replicas,” he said.

This is not the first time that the intersection of contemporary culture and ancient Egyptian artifacts has raised eyebrows.

An exhibition at the Leiden Museum in the Netherlands recently caused a stir by linking hip-hop music with pharaonic coffins and statues, aiming to show the influence of ancient Egypt on artists of African descent.

Photos of Beyonce as Queen Nefertiti and a video of Rihanna dancing in front of the pyramids have also sparked a backlash.

The latest controversy comes on the heels of a Netflix documentary about Cleopatra featuring a dark-skinned actress in the title role.

The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities condemned the casting, saying that Cleopatra was “light-skinned with Greek features,” and criticized the film as an attempt to endorse an “Afrocentric” perspective.

 

 


Lawsuit filed to halt Mubarak sons from contesting elections

Lawsuit filed to halt Mubarak sons from contesting elections
Updated 51 min 46 sec ago
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Lawsuit filed to halt Mubarak sons from contesting elections

Lawsuit filed to halt Mubarak sons from contesting elections
  • The lawsuit accuses them of illicit gains, and seeks the recovery of smuggled funds from across the world
  • Apart from preventing their candidacy, Ismail’s legal action calls for the recovery of funds that have allegedly been smuggled abroad

CAIRO: Abdel Salam Ibrahim Ismail, director of the National Center for Citizenship and Human Rights Support, has filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the sons of Egypt’s late President Hosni Mubarak, from running for any high-ranking office in the country.
The lawsuit accuses them of illicit gains, and seeks the recovery of smuggled funds from across the world.
Ismail said that he filed an urgent lawsuit in which he demanded the cancelation of the justice minister’s decision to refuse to open a probe against Mubarak’s sons, in accordance with Article 44 of Law 20 of 1977.
Apart from preventing their candidacy, Ismail’s legal action calls for the recovery of funds that have allegedly been smuggled abroad.
He said that these funds belong to the Egyptian people and should be reclaimed, whether they are in the form of real estate, liquid assets or deposits in Egyptian or foreign banks.
Ismail added that these funds should be handed over to the Ministry of Finance to contribute to the state’s general treasury.
He said his lawsuit is driven by a sense of responsibility toward safeguarding the Egyptian people’s money.
“This request of mine has nothing to do with the approaching presidential elections in 2024, but rather a citizen’s care for the Egyptian people’s money that was plundered by symbols of Mubarak’s state,” Ismail said.
However, Ammar Ali Hassan, a researcher in political sociology, raised doubts in a post on X, pointing out that neither Alaa nor Gamal Mubarak had applied for any political positions.
“What would happen if the court permitted them to run for office, potentially opening the door to their political participation,” he said.
The legal saga traces its roots back to May 2015 when an Egyptian court sentenced Mubarak and his sons to three years in prison.
They were also fined about 126 million Egyptian pounds ($4 million) and ordered to return about 21 million Egyptian pounds.
This ruling followed their conviction for embezzling public funds in the widely known “presidential palaces” case.
The court of cassation upheld the ruling, making it final in January 2016.
A legal expert, who chose anonymity, highlighted the complexities in the case.
He said Law 22 of 2014, enacted during the era of interim President Adly Mansour, stipulates that anyone running for the presidency must not have been convicted of a felony or a crime against honor or trust, even if their reputation has been restored. The interpretation of this law remains a point of contention among legal experts.


Turkish authorities warn unregistered Syrians to leave Istanbul

Turkish authorities warn unregistered Syrians to leave Istanbul
Updated 55 min 18 sec ago
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Turkish authorities warn unregistered Syrians to leave Istanbul

Turkish authorities warn unregistered Syrians to leave Istanbul
  • The government needs ‘new strategy because current harmonization plan not paying off,’ analyst says

ANKARA: Against a backdrop of increasing anti-migrant sentiment in Turkiye, the Ministry of Interior has instructed unregistered Syrian residents of Istanbul that, unless they leave the city by Sunday Sept. 24, they will face “severe sanctions.” Syrians who had previously registered in other Turkish provinces are required to return to their original places of registration.

In recent months, Turkish authorities have intensified their efforts to crack down on illegal migrants in Istanbul, which currently hosts more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, the most of any city in Turkiye. Many of the refugees were registered in locations outside of Istanbul, but came to the city in search of employment.

Syrians who fled the provinces in which they were registered after the devastating earthquake in February and were subsequently granted travel permits to Istanbul are exempt from the ministry’s orders.

Sinem Adar, an associate at the Center for Applied Turkey Studies in the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, noted that similar restrictive measures have been imposed in the past.

“In 2019, the Ministry of Interior told Syrian refugees who were not registered in Istanbul to return to the districts where they were initially registered,” she told Arab News. “The fact that a similar measure is now being implemented — four years later — is a sign that the earlier efforts were not successful.”

As of Sept. 14, Turkiye is home to approximately 3.2 million Syrians with temporary protection permits, down 19,100 from the previous month’s figures.

According to Adar, public pressure and its own policies mean Turkiye’s ruling government is keen to repatriate at least some of the Syrian refugees as soon as possible.

“Ankara has been trying to create a safe zone in Northern Syria,” Adar says, “while also attempting to foster a reconciliation with Bashar Assad.”

Turkish President Recep Erdogan promised ahead of elections back in May that he would repatriate a million Syrian refugees. He has also unveiled plans for the development of new residential, agricultural and industrial projects — financed by Qatar — in northwest Syria, where Turkish troops are stationed, to accommodate the resettlement of Syrian refugees from Turkiye over the next three years.

This initiative — dubbed “The Aleppo Model” — will also encourage businesses in Turkish provinces bordering Syria to engage in commercial activities within Syrian safe zones, thereby generating employment opportunities for local residents. However, progress remains sluggish due to the protracted reconciliation process between Ankara and Damascus.

“Unfortunately, a Syrian’s fate relies on procedural arbitrariness,” Omar Kadkoy, a migration policy analyst at Ankara-based think tank TEPAV, told Arab News. “The mere fact that a documented Syrian is present in a province other than that (in which they were initially registered) does not constitute sufficient grounds for deportation (in either) domestic or international law. The authorities, however, could arbitrarily link one’s presence outside the province of registration to other activities, like being a threat to the public, for which deportation could qualify as a legal procedure. So, an apprehended Syrian relies on luck instead of rule of law to appeal the decision.”

Official statistics show that around 554,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homeland voluntarily, but Adar said it is difficult to discern whether they all truly chose to return, as there have been allegations of refugees being pressured to sign up for “voluntary” return, as well as reports of increased deportations. “Forced return cannot be excluded,” she said.

As many in Turkiye grow increasingly resentful of the large number of refugees in the country amid its ongoing economic crisis, Syrian refugees are once again being made scapegoats by nationalist campaigns ahead of local elections in March 2024. “Gitmeliler” (They Should Go) has been trending on social media site X.

According to analyst Kadkoy, this is a recurring theme. Similar events occurred before the local elections in 2019, he noted.

“The public are living through the effects of unorthodox monetary policy, the pandemic and the recent earthquake on the economy, and blame Syrians for the economic woes,” he said.

The government, in response, “tightens measures against Syrians as a quick relief. This is insufficient and unsustainable,” he continued.

“The local elections are six months away. We are likely to see similar measures in other provinces as well. These measures are short-term fixes.”

He said the government “must seriously discuss and work on a new strategy because the current harmonization plan is not paying off.”

The analyst added: “This is particularly important since the prospects of large-scale voluntary repatriation are rather low without political transition in Syria.”

Adar underscored the delicate balancing act the ruling Justice and Development Party faces as it attempts to address societal discontent by returning some refugees to Syria while maintaining harmonious relations with Turkiye’s Arab population.

Several Turkish journalists and a number of other citizens have been detained recently for their anti-refugee social media posts, accused of inciting hatred and hate speech. Three journalists were arrested on Saturday morning.

“Ramping up measures against Syrian refugees while simultaneously punishing anti-refugee views is a strategy aimed at appealing to various interests,” Adar said.

The recent serious assault of Kuwaiti tourist Mohammed Al-Ajmi in the northeastern city of Trabzon, which left him comatose with four broken teeth, was a reminder of rising anti-Arab sentiment in the country, stoked by the influx of Syrian refugees.