Yemen – Minister of Water announces allotting $5 million to support Safer rescuing plan
The government of Yemen announced its support for the UN rescue plan for a “Safer bomb” at $5 million, while the Houthis are obstructing the maintenance of the tanker and blackmailing the world with it.
Yemen’s Minister of Water and Environment Tawfiq al-Sharjabi said Thursday his government has allocated $5 million from Yemen’s environmental allocation to help confront the threat posed by the Safer oil tanker floating off the Red Sea coast of Hodeida.
He made the remarks during his participation in the 33rd session of the Arab Council of Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs, held in Cairo, Egypt, according to the official Saba news agency.
He said Yemen’s contribution is an extension of the Yemeni government’s efforts to do all it can to support and facilitate the efforts of the United Nations and the international community to save Safer and prevent any potential disasters that may result from more than one million barrels of oil on board the detained tanker, which could have a disastrous impact not only on Yemen and the region, but on the entire world.
He stressed the importance of concerted regional and international efforts to create international pressure against the hostile acts of the Houthi-led militia, which continues to hold the Safer oil tank as an immoral pressure card.
“He noted that Houthi militias have laid sea and land mines, which requires urging all states and organizations to adopt effective positions to protect the Red Sea environment, especially the Yemeni environment, which has been exhausted by war and affected its natural and environmental resources.”
He also reiterated Yemen’s support for working alongside its brothers in Egypt to make the World Climate Change Summit, which Egypt will host next month, and Yemen’s support for Saudi Arabia’s green Middle East initiative and all the recommendations and decisions made by the Technical Committee on the Environment during the preparatory meetings for the 33rd session of the Council of Arab Ministers of the Environment.
Dropping the Houthi Bet
The Yemeni government’s support is projecting the bet of Houthi militias on a tanker that is rapidly deteriorating, carrying four times as much oil as the Exxon Valdez, where it could at any moment collapse or explode, causing a humanitarian disaster in a country exhausted by more than eight years of war.
A whistle-blower would result in permanent environmental damage, deep economic costs across the region, disruption of shipping traffic across the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Suez Canal, and billions of dollars in business losses every day.
Donors have already pledged US$ 75 million, the full amount needed to cover the cost of emergency operations to transport crude oil to a safe tank.
Donors have disbursed pledges and transferred funds, while others are accelerating the disbursement of pledges so work can begin as soon as possible, according to the UN, which said it has already begun preparations to complete the detailed operation plan and purchase a ship to contain crude oil.
The UN says US$38 million is still urgently needed and depends on the ability to provide a long-term alternative to replace a flagship tanker.
