The Supervisory Committee for the Implementation of the Safer Agreement organized on Tuesday in Sana’a a press conference to reveal the details of the rescue and preservation of the ship “Safer” from sinking in the year 2020.
In the conference, which was attended by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Muhammad Al-Hashemi, the Director of the Safer Company, Dr. Idris Al-Shami, and representatives of the Coast Guard, the Navy, and local and international media, Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Ezzi praised the role of the heroes who carried out the delicate and sensitive operation in saving the Safer ship from sinking while the Security Council was preoccupied with holding its sessions and blaming its statements that were full of falsehoods and inaccuracies.
He pointed out that this operation, which saved the ship from sinking, is the basis for enabling it to withstand and stay for a longer period until the United Nations and the other company brought the alternative ship to transport oil to it.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs touched on the great suffering of the Yemeni people during the past period. He said: “What we want today is to dedicate free media such actions that confirm the keenness of the Yemeni leadership, government and people on the safety of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and confirm that our naval forces are a valve safety in the Red Sea”.
He thanked all the heroes of the Navy, Coast Guard forces, engineers, and everyone who contributed to the success of this operation, which aimed to protect everyone from the disaster that would have harmed marine life at the level of the Red Sea and the entire region.
He warned of the danger of repeating the bitter experience of the old Safer ship, as a result of negligence, stressing the need to provide support and mobilize the necessary resources for the maintenance process of the replacement ship.
He added, “Today we are facing a new stage, especially since the process of unloading the Safer ship to the replacement ship is nearing completion, as we look at the new ship with our hands on our hearts and we fear that the same experience will be repeated, especially since it entered service in 2008.”
He explained that this ship needs exorbitant and sustainable maintenance expenses, calling on the United Nations and the international community to continue supporting the new ship to ensure its safety and preservation.
The Deputy Foreign Minister highly appreciated all the efforts that contributed to the purchase of the new ship, especially in light of the aggression and blockade imposed on Yemen.
For his part, the Staff of the Naval Forces, Brigadier General Mansour Al-Saeedi, talked about the stages of saving the Safer ship.
He appreciated the efforts of the Supreme Economic Committee and the Red Sea Ports Corporation with all its institutions, engineers and divers, maritime affairs, coast guard, local authority and security in Hodeidah governorate and the heroic engineers who remained on board the Safer ship and had a major role in the operation, as well as all the cadres and engineers who participated in the preparation and implementation of studies and recommendations for this national action that saved the Red Sea from a serious environmental disaster that threatened marine life.
He referred to the directives issued on May 28, 2020 AD to view the situation of the ship Safer, which resulted in the discovery of a water leakage disaster into the engine room, in which there are open pipes outside the ship to enter sea water with ten openings and four openings for water to exit, all of which are connected to the sea at a depth of 12 meters.
Brigadier General Al-Saeedi pointed out that the team noticed the entry of a large amount of water into the engine room space, and took quick steps to temporarily close these openings, and then discussions began about solutions and treatments to ensure that water does not leak into the ship. He pointed out that the water pressure is 12 meters deep meters posed a new challenge for the implementation of the operation in addition to the worn out pipes.
He said, “After studies and discussions, there were two options for saving the ship, the first is to replace the pipes, but there is a big problem in replacing the large pipes, as well as preventing the countries of the aggression coalition from entering the pipes and equipment for the purpose of maintenance, while the second option was to close the openings from outside the ship’s hull deeply 12 metres”.
He touched on the problem that the team faced, represented in searching for cadres and engineers to carry out this dangerous work, carry out welding works and close these openings, search for the necessary materials and make appropriate designs to conduct the operation.
While the head of the supervisory committee for the implementation of the Safer agreement, Zaid Al-Washli, confirmed that the situation of the floating tank Safer is very dangerous and threatened with sinking due to the end of its life span.. indicating that there are causes that accelerated the ship’s wear and tear, including the cessation of operational expenses, the unloading of its crew, and the prevention of the aggression coalition from the arrival of the fuel for its operation.
He revealed that the quantities of oil that were unloaded from the Safer tank to the alternative tank amounted to one million and 90 thousand barrels until this moment, and that the process of unloading the shipment is in its final stages.
The Chairman of the Supervisory Committee said, “The Naval Forces adopted this national action, deployed the technical teams, and contributed to the implementation of the technical works that took place in the year 2020.” He indicated that this process was carried out with continuous and vigorous follow-up by the President of the Supreme Political Council, Field Marshal Mahdi Al-Mashat and the Acting Chargé d’Affaires Chairman of the Higher Economic Committee.
During the press conference, a film was shown about the first rescue operation of the ship Safer, and the reasons that led to its deterioration, foremost of which was the prevention of the aggression coalition from entering fuel ships to supply the Safer with the diesel necessary to operate its system, and the Safer company disavowed its obligations by stopping the operational budget of the ship Safer, withdrawing the ship’s crew and keeping a few of them are for observation only, and all maintenance programs are stopped.
The film showed the technical and operational condition of the Safer ship before the rescue operation, the deterioration of pipes and measuring devices, and the suspension of all transport lines for not being supplied with fuel, in addition to its exposure to sea water for a long time.
The film showed the process of saving the ship from sinking, where the technical teams of the naval forces made an emergency plan, consisting of three stages, with the participation of the crew remaining on the ship, the Red Sea Ports Corporation and the Coast Guard.
The first phase, in May 2020, included making temporary solutions to stop the leakage and plug the places of leakage in the pipes, while the second consisted of blocking and closing the seawater entry openings into the engine room space by lowering a team of divers and engineers to a depth of 12 meters to study and evaluate the process, make designs and take the necessary measurements. And then the team descended loaded with tools and began the operations of closing the holes and fixing, making sure that there was no water leakage, and completing the process on September 21, 2020 AD, on the starboard side of the ship.
The third stage consisted of blocking and closing the sea water exit holes from the engine room space, the diameter of each hole is approximately two meters, and there are four openings.
Source: Yemen News Agency
