Funding achieved for first stage of UN-coordinated plan to address threat of major oil spill from FSO Safer.
IMO has been supporting contingency planning efforts in the region to prepare for a possible spill from FSO Safer and to limit the impacts should one occur.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has welcomed the huge step made in securing funding for the first stage of a UN-coordinated plan to address the threat of a major oil spill from the FSO Safer, moored off Yemen.
Following a side-event in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, it was confirmed that US$ 77 million has now been pledged following a funding campaign. (Read more: UN News)
This is enough to begin the first, emergency phase of the planned operation. This envisages mitigating risks by transferring the oil in the decaying floating storage and offloading unit to a safe temporary vessel.
"I am pleased that the international community has come together to support the UN-wide efforts to mitigate the threat of the impending significant environmental incident,” Mr. Lim said. "This is a significant milestone in our collaborative work to address this threat. By acting now, there is a good chance to avert disaster.”
IMO has been supporting contingency planning efforts in the region to prepare for a possible spill from FSO Safer and to limit the impacts should one occur. An oil spill from FSO Safer would be a humanitarian and environmental disaster, with huge economic impacts for the shipping and maritime industry throughout the region.
The ministerial-level UNGA side-event was co-hosted by the Federal Republic of Germany. the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States of America.
An additional US$38 million is still required for a longer-term solution. Further funding pledges are welcomed and encouraged.