The Security Council calls for facilitating the arrival of "SAFER" technical experts without conditions

English - Thursday 16 July 2020 الساعة 06:15 pm
Aden, Newsyemen:

The UN Security Council called on the Houthi militia to implement concrete measures without delay regarding the crisis of the "Safer" tanker anchored off the port of Ras Isa in the Hodeidah governorate, west of the country, warning of the possibility of a massive leak.

This came in a statement read by the President of the United Nations Security Council, German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, to journalists at the United Nations Headquarters via a television circuit, after the end of a session of the Council on the situation in Yemen, held late on Wednesday.

The Council expressed its deep annoyance at the "increasing danger of the oil tanker disintegration or explosion, and the occurrence of an environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe for Yemen and its neighbors."

Heusgen said: "During the session, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program Inger Anderson and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock briefed us on the increasing environmental and humanitarian risks posed by the tanker, which is evident from its case leaking seawater into its engine room, on 27 October, last May. "

He indicated that the members of the Security Council referred to the Houthis' declaration that a UN team would be allowed access to the tanker, while “representatives of the member states called on the Houthis to transfer this commitment to concrete action as soon as possible; including approval of entry permits, a safe travel route to the tanker, and all arrangements other logistics. "

Heusgen also stressed the importance of "facilitating unconditional access to United Nations technical experts to assess the carrier's condition and conduct any possible urgent reforms, and to ensure close cooperation with the United Nations."

At the same time, the President of the Council stressed, "the aspiration of the members of the Council to see the implementation of concrete measures without delay."

At the beginning of the session, Mark Lowcock informed the UN Security Council that a team of UN technical experts would arrive at the tanker within weeks. To prevent an environmental disaster in the region.

While SAFER divers were able to stop the leak, Lowcock warned that it was "impossible to determine the time period within which the tanker could withstand".

He also explained that "Safer carries 1.1 million barrels of oil, which is almost four times the amount of oil that was leaked in the Exxon Valdez disaster ... that disaster which the world is still talking about after 30 years."

This tanker is anchored off the port of Ras Issa, since the outbreak of the Yemeni crisis, and faces the danger of exploding or leaking its cargo of crude oil; Due to the corrosion of its steel structure, due to the lack of maintenance.

The Houthi militia required the sale of tanker oil to its advantage, which the government rejected, which made the crisis last for years.