KNUTSFORD, UK — James Fisher Fendercare (JF Fendercare) has provided a fendering and hoses system to Euronav for the mission to transfer 1.15 MMbbl of oil from the decaying FSO Safer, which has been moored in the Red Sea 4.8 nautical miles offshore Yemen since 2015.
Operations have remained suspended due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Examination has revealed significant deterioration in the integrity of the vessel, which was converted from a tanker in the 1980s, with no maintenance conducted since operations ceased. Fenders For Docks
Safer is thought to pose a major risk to marine life and the livelihoods of about 200,000 people on the coast, and pollution arising from a spill would have a further impact on the shipping of goods and the desalination of seawater for local consumption.
Euronav will employ JF Fendercare’s Yokohama pneumatic fenders with their aircraft tyre nets and floating hoses for the operation, with the oil to be transferred to the VLCC Nautica, supplied in partnership with the UN Development Program.
The tanker will then be towed to a green scrapping yard.
Marina Fenders The UN has initiated the project’s emergency phase due to estimated cleanup costs in the event of a spill of $20 billion and associated disruptions to shipping through the Bab al-Mandab strait to the Suez Canal likely to cost billions more in global trade losses.