UN launches online campaign to bridge funding gap for Safer salvage work

UN launches online campaign to bridge funding gap for Safer salvage work

NEW YORK: The UN on Monday launched a social media campaign to raise money to bridge the gap in funding for a salvage operation to prevent a potentially devastating oil spill in the Red Sea from the decaying tanker FSO Safer. The vessel, which contains 48 million gallons of oil, has been moored off the west cost of Yemen since the start of the war in the country seven years ago. It has had little or no maintenance during that time and its condition has deteriorated, raising growing fears that a disaster is imminent that could cause the world’s fifth-largest oil spill from a tanker. The UN is seeking $144 million in donations to fund the operation to make it safe, $80 million of which will be used to transfer the oil to another vessel. “Following Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a $10 million pledge on June 12 and the US announcement that it is working toward a $10 million contribution, we now have three-quarters of the $80 million required to start the emergency phase of the operation,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. David Gressly, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, announced the fundraiser in a message posted to