It has been nearly two years since the New Yorker published its story on the Safer, which I diaried Here. The aging tanker was in danger of leaking, sinking, or catching fire, any of which could have released a massive oil spill and shut down the Red Sea, causing a massive ecological disaster.
Politics was in the way of rational solutions, but persistence has finally paid off. US News reports that the tanker has been emptied, and will be (if I understand correctly) towed for salvage.
Salvage crews operated for 18 days in a coastal conflict zone riddled with sea mines, amid high summer temperatures and strong currents, to offload the oil from the vessel.
The United Nations managed the deal, which was quite complex and is not fully complete.
Steiner said the U.N. raised more than $120 million for the operation, which required the purchase of a second tanker for the offloaded crude, aircraft waiting on standby to release chemicals to dissipate the oil in case of a spill and policies with more than dozen insurers to underwrite the operation.
So the area can breathe a tiny bit easier. Except for war. And climate change. And a bunch of other things, just not a massive oil spill right now.