The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassim Mohammad Al Budaiwi on Wednesday expressed the GCC’s welcome of the UN’s implementation of its operational plan to solve the problem of the Floating Storage and Offloading Unit (FSO) Safer Oil Tanker to start unloading its cargo of crude oil to alternative vessel “Nautica”.
Al Budaiwi said in a statement that the operation contributes to averting a marine environmental disaster that threatens maritime security and the global economy in the Red Sea. He also praised the success of the international efforts and UN endeavors during the past years, which culminated in the start of unloading FSO Safer.
The GCC Chief lauded financial support from donor countries to end the threat of FSO Safer.
FSO Safer was holding more than a million barrels of oil and has been moored off the Ras Issa coast in Hodeidah since 1988. Experts estimated the damage that might be caused by an oil spill at around USD 20 billion.
Source: Qatar News Agency