UN coordinator for Yemen, David Gresley, confirms that the oil removed to a replacement vessel, amounting to about 1.1 million barrels, is "in very good condition and can be sold".
United Nations said that it had offered its mediation war parties in Yemen in order to reach an agreement to sell crude oil withdrawn from the Safer tanker anchored off the coast of Hodeidah in the Red Sea, but no breakthrough was achieved in this regard.
United Nations Coordinator in Yemen, David Gresley, confirmed that the oil that was withdrawn to a replacement ship for the dilapidated Safer (about 1.1 million barrels) is “in very good condition, and it can be sold,” but this matter needs to be negotiated between the two parties, “because those who control it They are not the ones who own it," referring to the Houthi group.
"So we have to find a way to make this acceptable to all parties," he added in an interview published on the United Nations website.
"So we're going to have all parties involved in the discussion about this," Gresley said. "We have offered UN mediation, including the possibility of setting up a trust fund or escrow account, but no decisions have been reached on that. So that's another discussion to have."
Gresley described the completion of the process of transferring oil from the dilapidated Safer tanker to "an alternative ship as an important step that will build momentum and generate hope that peace efforts can be accelerated in Yemen," stressing that great satisfaction has prevailed among all Yemenis of different orientations and affiliations.
He added, "We were facing a problem represented by the fact that we had a dilapidated giant tanker containing more than a million barrels of oil, and it was in danger of exploding at any moment, which heralded a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea."
The UN official confirmed that the direct threat has ended, because the oil has been transferred to another, newer tanker, which is not worn out and does not face the risk of explosion, and has modern protection means built into it in order to protect the environment.
"So it won't pose a threat for a long time to come, but we need to find a way to maintain it and maintain it so that it remains completely safe. This is an issue that we are working on now, post-operational management, but for sure the threat is gone."
Regarding the party that will manage and maintain the tanker "Yemen" (to which the oil was withdrawn), Gresley said: "The Yemeni authorities are the ones who do that, but we promised both parties that we would sit with them at the end of the oil transfer process with the aim of searching for a way to find financing and a way to preserve "The ship and its maintenance. We have reached this stage now. We will start working on that."
United Nations announced, on Friday, the end of the process of withdrawing the cargo of the dilapidated "Safer" oil tanker off the strategic Yemeni port of Hodeidah in the Red Sea, noting that more than a million barrels of oil had been withdrawn from it, and thus the imminent danger of a leak had passed.
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