Boskalis, an international maritime service provider, averted a colossal catastrophe through its subsidiary SMIT Salvage by successfully offloading over 1.1 million barrels of crude oil from the deteriorating floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel Safer off the Yemen coast.
The Safer has remained moored approximately 9 kilometres off Yemen’s Red Sea coast since its construction in 1976. Initially constructed as an oil tanker, it underwent conversion in 1987 to become a floating storage facility. Given its single-hulled construction and the substantial amount of light crude oil it contained, the FSO Safer had become a pressing environmental concern. Its condition had been exacerbated by the lack of maintenance since 2015, due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Experts had raised alarms about its potential to explode or break apart, leading to an unprecedented environmental and humanitarian disaster for the region.
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In a commendable act of swift response, Boskalis, through SMIT Salvage, undertook the Herculean task of removing the oil.
During this United Nations coordinated operation, over 1.1 million barrels of oil was successfully transferred to a safe modern tanker moored alongside the FSO Safer.
Peter Berdowski, the CEO of Boskalis, expressed his satisfaction and pride in the achievement, highlighting the intense preparations and collaboration that went into the endeavor.
“With our salvage activities, we have once again averted a potential environmental disaster of unprecedented proportions. Thanks in part to the efforts of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and over two years of preparations by Boskalis, we were able to successfully execute this complex operation on behalf of the United Nations,” Berdowski said.
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Berdowski further lauded the team’s proficiency, especially given the challenging conditions of the Red Sea.
The triumphant operation will be followed by the cleaning of the tanks by SMIT Salvage, expected to be completed in a week. After which, under the purview of the UN, the FSO Safer will be transported to a green scrapping yard, ensuring that it is disposed of responsibly.
