– We have had teams that looked at the ship and many of them say that so far we have been lucky. One day our turn will end. It will give way and the oil will leak out.
The ship is anchored off the northwest coast of Yemen. Since the war broke out in 2015, it has been left almost completely without maintenance.
Now the 46-year-old oil tank is about to rust. In addition, systems that ensure that no explosive gas is collected on board have been knocked out.
– The ship can break apart in tough weather or explode, says David Gressly.
Threatens vital fishing
There are over a million barrels of oil on board. The cargo is almost four times the amount of crude oil that leaked outside Alaska in the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989. If it ends up in the Red Sea, two of Yemen’s most important ports would be forced to close and millions of Yemenis would be without food, medicine and fuel.
An oil leak would threaten the Red Sea ecosystem and wipe out the fishing industry, a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Yemenis. According to the UN, the oil could reach all the way to the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz, some of the world’s busiest trade routes.
– It would be a hard blow to the region and the world, says David Gressly.
Breakthrough in negotiations
Negotiations have been underway for years to move the dilapidated ship. But the parties to the war have not been able to agree on who will receive the revenue from the oil.
A few months ago came the first breakthrough in seven years. Then the UN reached an agreement with the combatants on a solution that could prevent the disaster: to move the oil to another safer ship.
– For once, we can take preventive measures instead of rushing in later and spending billions on something we could have stopped, says David Gressly.
Fight against the clock
But there is a lack of money to implement the plan. Three-quarters of the $ 80 billion UN estimates are needed to begin the operation are in place. Sweden contributes SEK 50 million. Now the UN has resorted to crowdfunding to collect the rest. An unusual move, says David Gressly. But it’s a battle against the clock.
– Every day we wait is a day it can happen.