Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, has been devastated by a civil war since March 2015. Based on UNICEF report Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than 24 million people – some 80 per cent of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children. Beside all this humanitarian catastrophe, Yemen also faces a serious environmental issue concerning the SAFER Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) which is located approximately 4.8 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen. It was originally built as an ultra-large crude carrier (ULCC) in Japan in 1976 and converted to a FSO in 1986. Since 1988, it has been moored at Ras Isa where, prior to the escalation of the conflict in 2015, it had been receiving, storing and exporting crude oil flowing from the Marib oil fields. The FSO SAFER is owned by Yemen’s national oil company, the Safer Exploration & Production Operation Company (SEPOC). The FSO has not been inspected or maintained since 2015 and has been out of class since 2016, leading to serious concerns about its integrity. It contains nearly 1.14m barrels of crude oil and the lack of maintenance is creating the conditions for the most damaging ecological disaster in the region and the world. This compares to four times the amount spilled during the Exxon Valdez incident back in 1989. It is understood that there is currently no oil leaking from the unit, but it is considered that the risk of an oil spill from the FSO SAFER is increasing as its structure, equipment and operating systems continue to deteriorate.
“The impact of a spill could be felt by millions of Yemenis, including people living far from the coastline”
Oil spills end with adverse impacts that may vary from lowest with no or very little detectable effect lasting only some hours or days, to longer-term effects. Larger spills cause larger harm, however, the level of impact varies depending on the oil and incident type, local conditions, and resources present. In this blog, we'll highlight the story behind the FSO SAFER issue that has been ignored by the International Community and also the Yemeni Governments for five years.
A recent article highlighted that an oil spill from the #FSOSafer will destroy marine habitats and ecosystems. Some of the most prominent effects are apparent among “marine, coastal and island environments, mangrove forests, seaports, cities, agricultural fields, water wells, and water stations,” as noted by Yemeni geologist Dr. Abdul-Ghani Jaghman in 2017. The area at risk is home to distinctive coral ecosystems, endemic fish species and invertebrates, unique flora and fauna, sea turtles, endemic birds, and other unique species. Should a spill occur, coral reefs would disappear and planktons would be suffocated by crude oil slicks. The loss of marine ecosystems will create greater suffering from the environmental problems that Yemen already suffers from.
Source: Holm Akhdar Website
Climate Change has already impacted food security in Yemen, and the #FSO SAFER will exacerbate this dilemma. People who live in the coastal areas, including indigenous and vulnerable communities, depend on agriculture, fishing, and livestock grazing as a source of income and food. The Parties who use this case to obtain their political and financial interests and reject any initiatives to fix the oil tanker will increase people's suffering to get their basic needs met. According to the analysis of the British company Riskware, 100% of fisheries would be affected by the imminent FSO Safer disaster, and it could take 25 years for fishing stocks to recover. Nearly, 500,000 people working in the fish and seafood industry, plus 1.7 million dependents would be in dire need of food aid. As previously mentioned, in a country already in need of humanitarian aid for 80% of its population, this would be devastating. The biggest problem is that much of the Yemeni society is not aware of the environmental and economic loss that will arise if the spill happens.
FSO Safer Risk Impact Analysis – Source: Riskaware
Until this moment, the Yemeni society treats the case as a political issue, ignoring the environmental and socio-economic side of the losses. Low public awareness of the ecological values of our seas weakens social responsibility and mobilization towards solving this issue. Other reasons are, the conflict and its politics, the humanitarian situation, low biodiversity awareness among the population, and lack of awareness on biodiversity values among decision makers! Clearly, many different factors are contributing to the sense that the Yemeni society is becoming ever-more divided, but solving this issue demands information, collaboration and unity from all.
We call on youth from around the world to raise their voices and demand urgent action from their governments, civil society, and decision makers to save aquatic life and coastal livelihoods across the Red Sea. Follow the hashtag #FSOSafer on social media and stay tuned for more information coming soon from youth leaders in the region about how the global youth community can stand up and advocate for environmental issues in conflict-affected areas.
Links and references
International Maritime Organization: FSO SAFER oil spill risk. January, 2021
Holm Akhdar: FSO Safer Disaster: This Is What the Red Sea Ecosystem Might Lose. January, 2021.
Riskaware. Models the potential impact of a release from the FSO Safer oil facility in Yemen. Nov, 2020. UK.
This blog was written and submitted by Y4N Global Ambassador, Ala Mustafa Al Rabeei.