Secretary-General Welcomes Successful Removal of Oil from FSO Safer to Yemen Replacement Vessel, Avoiding Environmental, Humanitarian Catastrophe

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General welcomes the news that the ship-to-ship transfer of oil from the FSO Safer to the Yemen replacement vessel has been safely concluded today, avoiding what could have been a monumental environmental and humanitarian catastrophe. 

The Secretary-General reaffirms the United Nations commitment to successfully complete this project, including through the delivery of a specialized buoy to which the replacement vessel will be safely and securely tethered.  He expresses his gratitude to the Yemeni authorities whose support has been critical to its success.  Additional funding will be needed to finish the project and remove any remaining environmental threat to the Red Sea.

The Secretary-General thanks the many countries, corporate and philanthropic donors as well as ordinary citizens who contributed funding for the project. 

The Secretary-General urges donors to contribute funds at this crucial time to conclude this operation.