Peace Support Facility – FSO Safer Salvage Operation - Yemen


An oil spill from the Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) tanker “Safer” could occur at any time, discharging up to 1’148’000 mio barrels of crude oil along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and neighbouring countries, affecting the lives and livelihoods of up to 12 million people. Through this contribution, Switzerland supports the United Nations’ salvage operation to prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea and its potentially disastrous impacts on Yemen and the region. 

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Yemen
Climate change and environment
Disaster risk reduction DRR
14.11.2022 - 31.12.2024
CHF  300’000
Background

Moored off the Red Sea coast of Yemen, the FSO Safer is a rapidly decaying supertanker at risk of breaking apart or exploding, discharging up to 1’148’000 mio barrels of crude oil along the Red Sea coastline. The spill would result in a humanitarian, economic and environmental catastrophe with its epicentre on the coast of Yemen, a country already devastated by more than seven years of war. 

The Salvage Operation by the United Nations aims to prevent this catastrophe by mobilising salvage assets, offloading the oil from FSO Safer, placing an oil-spill contingency response on stand-by, and establishing the conditions for the disposal of FSO Safer once a longer-term storage solution has been agreed.

Objectives By 2024, people in Yemen, especially women, adolescents and girls and those in the most vulnerable and marginalised communities benefit from better, equal and inclusive access to nutritious food, sustainable and resilient livelihoods and environmental stability.  
Target groups

12 million people whose lives and livelihoods could be directly impacted by the oil spill, pollution, port closures and clean-up operations. 

More than 30.7 Mio persons who could be affected indirectly due to food insecurity and loss of livelihoods. 

Medium-term outcomes A potential oil spill from the FSO Safer tanker is prevented to protect eco-system and economy.
Results

Expected results:  

-    Operational approvals granted;

-    Detailed planning established; 

-    Security and risk mitigation in place; 

-    Funding secured;

-    Successful securing and transfer of oil;

-    Post oil-transfer activities carried out;

-    Oil sold and FSO Safer vessel replaced.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
United Nations Organization (UNO)
  • United Nations Development Programme


Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    300’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    300’000