The UN said on Wednesday it found the $75 million needed to launch a rescue operation in Yemen of an oil tanker that threatens to cause an oil spill in the Red Sea.
"We now have sufficient promises and commitments to begin the FSO Safer rescue operation,"
David Gressly, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, told a press conference.
"This is a key step
," he said, adding that the pledges now reach between 77 and 78 million dollars.
One of the worst humanitarian crises in the world
The FSO Safer tanker, anchored off the strategic port of Hodeida (west), contains the equivalent of just over a million barrels and risks breaking, exploding or catching fire at any time, according to experts.
About 45 years old, the tanker which serves as a floating storage and offloading terminal has not been maintained since 2015 when Yemen is plunged into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world due to the war between power to the Houthi rebels who control the port of Hodeidah.
According to the UN, the Safer contains four times the quantity of the Exxon Valdez, the tanker which caused in 1989 one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States.
The first rescue phase, which requires 75 million dollars, should make it possible to stabilize the FSO Safer and transfer the oil to another vessel.
The UN has called on donors to turn their pledges into money
“as quickly as possible”
– at this stage $59m has been disbursed.
A second phase providing for the long-term storage of the cargo is estimated at an additional $38 million.
"We believe we can achieve this within a reasonable time
," said David Gressly.