Euronav NV today announces it has signed an agreement with the UN to sell a VLCC as part of a wider salvage operation for the FSO Safer located in Yemen.
Euronav will provide a suitable vessel that will go to drydock for necessary modifications and regular maintenance before sailing to the FSO Safer moored about 8 km off Yemen’s Ras Isa peninsula, for the operation to remove and store the oil. The vessel will replace the FSO Safer and will stay there. Euronav will help operate the vessel including after the transfer of the oil for several months afterwards.
The damaged vessel, the FSO Safer (1976 – 406,639 dwt) is one of the largest vessels ever built and for more than thirty years has been positioned off the Yemeni coast. However, since 2015 it has been abandoned without power or maintenance. It has become a real danger. The vessel therefore represents an impending environmental disaster prone to either break up or explosion.
The United Nations has put together a co-ordinated package of salvage operation, management of the FSO Safer and safe handling of the stored crude.
Euronav is an independent tanker company engaged in the ocean transportation and storage of crude oil. The company is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, and has offices throughout Europe and Asia. Euronav is listed on Euronext Brussels and on the NYSE under the symbol EURN. Euronav employs its fleet both on the spot and period market. VLCCs on the spot market are traded in the Tankers International pool of which Euronav is one of the major partners. Euronav’s owned and operated fleet consists of 1 V-Plus vessel, 41 VLCCs (with further one under construction), 21 Suezmaxes (with a further five under construction) and 2 FSO vessels under long term contract.