The Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment discussed the threats posed by the abandoned oil tanker in the Red Sea.
The Council has taken decisive resolutions to avoid a potential environmental catastrophe as FSO Safer oil tanker moored off the Ras Issa oil port has had no maintenance since 2015.
The resolutions call for the Arab countries, the international community, representative of the UN Secretary-General to mount pressure on Houthis to grant access to the relevant authorities to assess the vessel's condition, conduct any possible repairs and discharge its cargo.
This came during the extraordinary virtual meeting of the Secretariat General of the Arab League, represented in the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment, which was held today at the headquarters of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, at the request of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
During the meeting, the Council discussed mechanisms to activate the Decision that was taken at the 31st Council Session. It also called on countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to implement the Council’s decisions in this regard, and the Arab and African countries bordering the Red Sea to establish national response plans to limit devastating consequences of oil spill, explosion or fire.
The Council has also appealed for support from the United Nations Environment Program and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to efforts made by PERSGA, the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
During a meeting held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo on October 24, 2019 AD, the Kingdom stressed the need for cooperation among all Arab, regional and international countries to prevent the looming disaster of the Safer oil tanker.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taking preventive measures; turning up the pressure on the militia to allow maintenance work, cooperating the countries of the region, the international community, and regional and international organizations through developing a contingency and response plan to this environmental disaster.