Boskalis subsidiary Smit Salvage has signed an agreement with the United Nations (UN) to empty the tanker off the coast of Yemen. The work involves around thirty million euros, says Boskalis CEO Peter Berdowski. But that’s not the main reason. (…). Everyone knows this is a time bomb that needs to be defused.’
The tanker is a floating oil storage and transfer facility located approximately nine kilometers off the coast of Yemen. However, since the start of the civil war in 2015, the tanker has not been maintained and its condition has deteriorated. The risk of explosion or leakage is high. If that were to happen, it could have dire consequences for the region’s environment.
That’s why “Boskalis’s hands couldn’t wait” to complete the assignment, Berdowski says. ‘On the one hand, it has to make ends meet in terms of funding, but obviously Yemen is also a hornet’s nest. Then you have to reach an agreement with all parties involved. Of course the UN did it.’ As a result, according to the CEO, he would now be responsible for carrying out the work.
Millions of barrels of oil
According to Berdowski, the assignment has already been prepared for 2.5 years. It would have been done for free. ‘Precisely because we as a team have said that this is a special category where we want to take our responsibilities. It’s nice that more paid work now follows, but that’s not our main motivation.’
“It’s nice that more paid work now follows, but that’s not our main motivation”
The tanker probably contains enough oil to fill a million barrels. “We don’t know what the quality of that oil is. That’s why we start with a three-week inspection. Then all those tanks that contain oil are stabilized. The gas must then be released, because there is a great risk of explosion.’ It is not known when the project will start.
Source: BNR
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