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All hands on deck

UN averts massive Red Sea oil spill

By United Nations Development Programme

August 11^th, 2023

For eight years a floating time bomb has been moored off the coast of Yemen.

The ageing oil storage vessel FSO Safer, stranded by the nexus of war, had not been maintained for years, which made her cargo—more than one million barrels of crude oil—particularly deadly.

The 47-year-old tanker was in danger of breaking apart at any moment. If it had, the environmental consequences would have been disastrous for the Red Sea, the region and the global shipping economy.

All hands on deck

All hands on deck

All hands on deck

The cost of cleaning up a spill could have hit as much as US$20 billion, there would have been hundreds of millions more in lost economic opportunities, and it would have taken years, if not decades, to recover. It’s estimated fish stocks would have needed 25 years to return.

To protect the Red Sea, the United Nations put together a plan to remove the oil. UNDP was tasked with carrying out the operation. The first step was to assemble an international team of marine salvage, maritime law, insurance and oil spill experts. And with our sister UN agencies, the race against time began.

An international team of marine salvage, maritime law, insurance and oil spill experts were all assembled under the leadership of the United Nations to execute the ambitious plan to secure the decaying FSO Safer. Photo: Shutterstock

The shopping list

We needed a replacement tanker for the oil, so we bought the Nautica (now renamed MOST Yemen). She was then fitted out to our specifications in dry dock in Singapore.

We contracted leading marine salvage company, SMIT, a subsidiary of Boskalis, to mobilize a fleet of support vessels led by the Ndeavor, to undertake the operation.

Equipped and crewed, the Ndeavor sailed from the Netherlands to Djibouti and reached the Safer, which is about eight kilometres off the coast of southern Yemen, at the end of May.

The MOST Yemen departed from Hodeidah on 17 July and anchored next to the FSO Safer. When preparations were finalized SMIT began the ship-to-ship transfer began—immediately reducing the risk.

“Today is a proud moment for the many people across the UN System as well as our donors and partners who have worked tirelessly over the past months and years to avert a disaster in a country already vulnerable following protracted conflict. There is still work to be done, but today we can say with confidence that the immediate threat of a spill has been averted.” - UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner

Photo: UNDP/Fouad Juez

“I welcome the news that the transfer of oil from the FSO Safer has been safely concluded today. The United Nations-led operation has prevented what could have been an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe on a colossal scale.” - UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Photo: UN/Mark Garten

Global support

This story echoed around the world and support flowed in. Donors big and small lent their support to every aspect of the project—from money, to expertise, to help in kind.

Thanks to generous governments, the private sector and the public, we received US$121.2 million—enough for the emergency phase.

All hands on deck

All hands on deck

All hands on deck

There remains a funding shortfall of US$21.8 million, which includes our longer-term plans for the Safer.

Prior to the successful completion of the oil transfer, the FSO Safer posed great danger to surrounding communities, livelihoods, biodiversity and regional trade. Photo: SMIT/Coen de Jong

UN Resident Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, who has been working on the project for over a year, said the worst-case scenario has been avoided, but this is not the end of the story.

For Mohammed Siddig Madawi, UNDP's Safer Coordinator and Adviser, who has spent several weeks aboard the Ndeavor during the transfer of the oil, the project was an inspiring example of expertise and international cooperation.

“It reminds us of why we exist as the UN, to tackle some of the world’s most difficult problems, using our convening power to bring together the international community to solve seemingly impossible challenges." - Mohammed Siddig Madawi Safer Coordinator and Adviser, UNDP

Photo: UNDP/Dylan Lowthian

The United Nations thanks donors for the generous support

All hands on deck

Footnotes

We also thank the HSA Group, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, the Trafigura and Leo Balmer Foundations, Octavia Energy/Calvalley Petroleum, and generous individuals that have contributed to the UN crowdfunding campaign.

FootNotes

We also thank the HSA Group, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, the Trafigura and Leo Balmer Foundations, Octavia Energy/Calvalley Petroleum, and generous individuals that have contributed to the UN crowdfunding campaign.

© 2026 United Nations Development Programme

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