Motion Graphics: A floating bomb in the Red Sea ... what is it and what is its danger?
English - Sunday 23 August 2020 الساعة 12:47 pm
Aden, Newsyemen, Exclusive:
The Yemeni oil tanker "Safer", anchored in the port of "Ras Issa" overlooking the Red Sea, concerns the world with the possibility of causing a "huge" environmental disaster, after its leakage or explosion at any moment.
Safer, which was built 45 years ago, is used as a floating storage platform, loaded with about 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and has not undergone any maintenance since 2015, which led to the erosion of its structure and deterioration of its condition.
The "Washington Post" newspaper warned of a similar disaster to Beirut off the western coast of Yemen, saying that a large ship "threatened with imminent explosion" had been helpless for years in the water.
Experts sounded the alarm again and again, warning of a major preventable disaster, however the warnings were ignored.
The United Nations earlier accused the Houthi militia of obstructing the process of repairing the oil tanker "Safer" over the past two years, warning of great environmental, living and economic risks in the event that the tanker was not repaired immediately.
What is "SAFER"?
Safer is a semi-static floating oil tank in deep Yemeni waters near the port of Hodeidah, and an oil export terminal, according to “The Independent”.
It started as a giant oil tanker, after it was completed in Japan in 1976 by "Hitachi Zusen" under the name "ISO Japan".
It was sold to Yemen in 1986, and sent to South Korea to convert it into a floating storage tank, with the aim of exporting oil from Ma'rib, Yemen.
The former Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, announced at the end of 1984 the discovery of oil fields in the Marib region, and that exports would begin within two years.
The American "Hunt Oil" company, based in Dallas, USA, was the one that discovered oil in the region, announcing the first discovery in the summer of 1984.
The reason for the need for "SAFER" is due to the shallowness of the Yemeni shores in the Red Sea, which oil tankers cannot come to. The solution was to build a floating platform from a huge ship and concentrate it in the middle of the sea in deep waters, and connect it to the port with an oil pipeline.
As for oil, it comes through the Ma'rib-Ras Issa pipeline, which brings oil to the area.
The reason for its name “SAFER” is due to the name of the owner company (Safer Company for Exploration and Production Operations), which is owned by the Yemeni government oil and gas company.
And “SAFER” is historically the largest gas producer in Yemen, and the second largest oil-producing company.
Risks of imminent explosion
It is true that crude oil is by nature an inert substance, and it does not pose a danger or cause of explosion or ignition like benzene. But according to specialists, the danger lies in the oxidation process caused by the air that occupies the empty space in the tanker's storage tanks, which hold about 3 million barrels of crude oil.
Doug Ware, director of research and policy at the Observatory for Conflict and Environment in the United Kingdom, confirms in a previous interview with CNN: “The oil molecules on the surface are subject to disintegration and re-union with the air molecules in the tank, and due to the time factor, the risk of this chemical reaction that leads to a fire, or an explosion in the end, increases.
Ware adds: “To reduce this risk and avoid ignition, since the engines are not running, it is necessary to keep the oxygen percentage in the tank below 11% by injecting the tank with inert gas, to maintain a low concentration of oxygen.
We can imagine the risk of an explosion at any moment in the Safer tanker, which was left without maintenance for 4 years, which exacerbates the environmental risks and the consequences.
International indolence threatens to bring about a catastrophe that will be the most damaging, just as the Stockholm Agreement created tragedies for civilians and pushed thousands of them to the list of citizens whose lives were destroyed by Houthi militia war.
Fish and marine organisms are at risk
Regardless of the possible scenarios for the spread of oil-polluted spots in the sea, there remains an inevitable catastrophe, and direct damage to the natural marine environment that the Red Sea enjoys, and it will eliminate biodiversity.
The mangrove forests that characterize a number of Yemeni islands in the Red Sea will be destroyed and damaged, and perhaps the Kamran Island Reserve, famous for being the most important marine forest filled with mangrove trees, will be exposed to huge damage, and other plants and marine life forms in the Red Sea environment.
This will affect the food chain, and in the long run, there will be an accumulation of toxins. Larvae and microorganisms accumulate toxins in their tissues, and they are an essential food source for large fish.
The coral reefs that decorate the Red Sea will also be subject to death in the event of an oil spill, due to its sensitivity, it is considered a natural, tourist, and aesthetic wealth, and a source of fish.
Economic disaster
The economic disaster is also one of the most important consequences of the disaster.
In the event of a leak, the livelihood of many Yemeni fishermen will be at risk.
Especially in Al Hodeidah, Al Khokha, Mocha and Bab Al Mandeb.
Yemen is an exhausted and economically troubled country, which is living under the shadow of war and a humanitarian crisis that is the largest in history.
It will be on a date with a major multiplier and multi-level disaster, in the event of a SAFER oil spill.
According to the United Nations, more than half of the population depends on the humanitarian aid that flows through the port of Hodeidah, and if it stops, the specter of famine may multiply and impede access to humanitarian aid.
Experts at the Atlantic Council believe that the emptying of the SAFER tanker of its oil cargo and carrying out the necessary maintenance is an immediate and necessary solution to avoid this disaster.
"Newsyemen" channel, on YouTube, displays a motion video explaining the SAFER tanker and the dangers of the disaster that this tan ker may cause.
