FSO SAFER
![FSO SAFER](https://marittima.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/FSOSAFER_1b8f84cc0.jpg)
Salvor’s Oil Spill Contingency and Response Plan
Project Aim:
To develop a pollution contingency and response plan, and provide procurement recommendations for the safe transfer of oil from the decaying FSO SAFER to a replacement vessel, ensuring alignment with the national plan and addressing the unique complexities of the operation.
In 2023, a UN-coordinated operation transferred the oil from the 47-year-old Safer to a safe replacement vessel.
FSO SAFER, a decaying supertanker holding 1.1 million barrels of oil had been moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast for several years and threatened to cause a spill resulting in widespread humanitarian and environmental impact.
The UN-appointed salvor, SMIT Salvage, requested Marittima to develop a pollution contingency and response plan and provide procurement recommendations for the operations. The project involved close liaison with UNDP pollution advisers to develop a strategy that was aligned with the national plan and accounted for the unique complexities of the situation:
- Response tactics tailored to account for the uncertainties associated with the project due to limited site accessibility and information (e.g. the conditions of the oil cargo);
- Resources and strategy to accommodate the considerable logistical constraints and sensitivities;
- Availability of a suite of measures in acknowledgement of the high risk and global interest in the operation
The operation proceeded smoothly with no reported spills and was completed in August 2023.