Summary
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A derelict oil tanker off the coast of Yemen was in danger of leaking more than a million barrels of crude oil into the Red Sea.
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The tanker, FSO Safer, was 47 years old and had serious mechanical and structural risks.
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A UN diplomat, David Gressly, orchestrated a last-ditch cleanup operation to remove the oil from the tanker.
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Gressly launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $144 million needed for the operation.
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The campaign was successful, and the oil was removed from the tanker in August 2023.
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Gressly is now considering establishing contingency plans for future situations of this sort.
More Details
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The FSO Safer was abandoned off the coast of Yemen in 2015 when war broke out in the country.
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The oil on the tanker belongs to the Yemeni state, but who represents that country is not yet settled.
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The crowdfunding campaign was successful because it was supported by people from all over the world, including Yemeni businessmen, schoolchildren in the United States, and the UN emergency humanitarian fund.
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Gressly is now considering establishing contingency plans for future situations of this sort, such as setting up a fund to cover the cost of emergency cleanups.
