Yemeni Naval Forces Thwart Environmental Disaster: Inside the Safer Tanker Operation

Sana’a unveiled on Tuesday the intricate details of a critical operation executed by the Yemeni naval forces in 2020, which averted the potential sinking of the Safer tanker. Had the operation failed, it would have precipitated a significant environmental catastrophe, a calamity for which the Saudi-led coalition would bear responsibility. The coalition had allowed the tanker to deteriorate into a potential disaster, and purportedly sought to utilize it as a political weapon against Sana’a, all while Sana’a was striving to forestall the looming peril.

In a press conference, the supervisory committee responsible for implementing the Safer agreement disclosed that the tanker was under the threat of sinking in May 2020. This danger arose due to seawater leakage into the tanker’s engine rooms, submerged around 12 meters underwater, thereby necessitating an immediate response.

Brigadier General Mansour Al-Saadi, Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces, elaborated on the circumstances of the rescue operation. On May 28, 2020, naval forces identified a leak into the engine rooms of the Safer tanker. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, a swift response was coordinated with the Coast Guard, the Red Sea Ports Authority, and the remaining tank crew, under the oversight of the President of the Republic and the Chairman of the Supreme Economic Committee.

According to Al-Saadi, the salvage operation was executed in three stages, starting with a temporary fix of the leak, followed by sealing the water entry points on the exterior of the tanker’s hull, submerged around 13 meters underwater.

During the press conference, a visual display revealed the initial water leakage near the engine rooms and the subsequent emergency interventions to halt the leak. The operation concluded with the placement of seals on the leak points on the ship’s exterior, a task made challenging by limited resources and time constraints relative to the magnitude of the potential disaster.

Al-Saadi noted that the Saudi-led coalition played a role in the deterioration of the tanker by blocking maintenance efforts for years and imposing a blockade that further complicated the rescue operation.

The crisis originated with the onset of the conflict, when the aggression hindered oil pumping to the tanker and obstructed the sale of its cargo. Further complicating matters, the Safer company controlled by mercenaries withdrew the tank crew, including the maintenance teams, and ceased all financial allocations, leading to the corrosion of the tanker and the potential spill of over a million barrels of crude oil.

Despite creating this precarious situation, the Saudi-led coalition allegedly continued to hinder Sana’a’s efforts to prevent disaster, later using the situation as leverage to shift international sentiment against Sana’a.

The United Nations has been accused of joining the alleged extortion campaign regarding the Safer tanker, delaying maintenance agreements and echoing misleading narratives to hold Sana’a accountable for the crisis.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al-Azzi emphasized that while naval forces were preventing a marine disaster, international condemnation was unfairly targeting the rescuers and Sana’a. Al-Azzi asserted that the Yemeni naval forces have demonstrated their crucial role in safeguarding maritime navigation and the marine environment in the Red Sea.

Al-Azzi further stressed that the international community, especially under the current conditions of conflict and siege on Yemen, should ensure the funding of operations and maintenance of the new tanker to avoid a recurrence of the Safer scenario.

The process to unload the Safer tanker’s cargo recently began with the arrival of the alternative ship, “Yemen,” under an agreement with the United Nations to prevent a catastrophic oil spill. Zaid Al-Washli, head of the supervisory committee for implementing the agreement, stated during the press conference that the transfer of the Safer’s cargo to the new ship was nearing completion.