Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

~ John W. Howell
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly with the FSO Safer

Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network. Here is the story as published.

Remarkable Man Averts Oil Tanker Disaster by Crowdfunding to Stop Crumbling Ship From Releasing Tons into Red Sea

By Andy Corbley–

In July, news media reported that a derelict oil tanker off the coast of Yemen had its more than 1 million barrels of crude removed in a successful cleanup operation.

The operation may have prevented a major environmental catastrophe in the Red Sea because the tanker, FSO Safer, was 47 years old and had serious mechanical and structural risks.

Now, an addendum to the story reveals the work of a true hero whose crowdfunding campaign succeeded in collecting the money necessary for the sea-saving work.

That addendum began when truce negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the controlling faction of Yemen, the Houthis, opened a wartime window of opportunity to do something about this environmental Sword of Damocles that had been hanging over the communities in the Red Sea since the FSO Safer was abandoned in 2015 after Saudi’s invasion.

The agreement to allow environmental crews is required so that a new vessel can be purchased to hold the oil, which technically belongs to the Yemen state, though who that represents isn’t settled yet. After agreement was reached in May of 2022, the race was on for the United Nations to conduct a hugely ambitious fundraiser of $144 million for a new tanker and a salvage company to drain all the oil, clean all the insides of the tanks, and bring the massive bulker to shore.

David Gressly, the UN’s resident humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, spearheaded the fundraiser and salvage operation but said that progress was slow going.

“If we had a major oil spill there, we would have probably raised a billion dollars in a month because there are mechanisms for governments to do just that,” Gressley told the Guardian.

Salvage teams at work on the Safer. credit -Lize Kraan-Smit from Boskalis

After government and private sector donations weren’t adding up, Gressley opened the fundraising to the world—anyone with a dollar to spare was invited to contribute to this admittedly massive goal.

By September 2022, the campaign had gathered $75 million of the required $144 million, an astonishing return driven by individuals, from Yemeni businessmen to schoolchildren in the US. When the campaign reached $121m in July this year, the emergency humanitarian fund of the UN provided a low-interest loan to cover the rest.

From there, work was turned over to Boskalis, a salvage company that finished the cleanup operation by August 11th after the MT Yemen, a brand new oil tanker, weighed anchor alongside Safer to siphon off the last of her oil before the old girl was towed to Yemen’s shore for scuppering.

Alongside his lifesaving work in Yemen, Gressley is also considering establishing contingency plans for future situations of the sort since he was still explaining that the money he helped raise would be going to a good cause even after the Boskalis said Safer had between 12 and 18 months of time left before crumbling into the sea.

You can watch an animation of the oil transfer.

The good news in this story is a person cared about averting a disaster and did something about it. Today’s JohnKu talks about the benefits of being decisive. I hope you have a great weekend.

Action by John W. Howell © 2023

There is time to wait,

But knowing action is first . . .

Averts disaster.

63 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News”

  2. Thanks for showcasing this story, John. Overcoming what seems impossible often starts with the forward thinking of one individual.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Wonderful story, John, on several levels! Thanks so much for sharing. I needed to read something uplifting this morning, and sure am glad I stopped by! Loved the JohnKu, too, as always. You rock, my friend! 😀 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Great story, John. Thank you for sharing this real-life example of how folks can make a difference. In this situation, a major difference. Bravo! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  16. What a riveting story, John. I had no idea what was involved in oil transfer from ship to ship – clearly a VERY expensive operation. Blessings to David Gressly for his work in averting a huge ecological disaster – and also to all the people who donated to help make this happen. We need more of people like him!

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Back in the 60s, an empty tanker caught fire and burned in Narragansett Bay between Newport and Jamestown, RI. We fished there a lot and took our little boat on a drive around the shop when it was safe. I’ll never forget how huge those tankers are. Kudos to that gentleman.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Wow. That is good news. Of course that doesn’t make major news outlets, but if disaster had happened, that would’ve been world news. :/ It’s great that the Good News Network exists at all.

    Like

  24. Thank goodness there are people like David Gressly. Had the holds let go of the oil, it would have been a situation and there would have been lots of finger pointing. Not only did he help avoid a disaster, he brought the world together.
    Wonderful JohnKu

    Liked by 1 person

  25. You JohnKu says it.

    However;

    Good grief! There was time to wait, but it was running out.
    It kinda bugs me that a company is even allowed to own a junker of an oil tanker. Then because it’s such a heap, abandon it when needed.
    I hope whatever company owned that tub is now out of business. More than likely they are sending other heaps around the globe.

    War is not an excuse or an answer.

    Anyway, it’s great that someone figured out a way to deal with it, even if school kids did have to chip in.

    It’s great, fab, wonderful, many good news things.
    Still, something is not sitting right with me.
    I hear Mammy from “Gone With the Wind” – “Ain’t fittin’, just ain’t fittin'”

    🚢Ẍ
    🐂🐂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The problem was there is a war going on and both sides refused to deal with the issue. Finally someone did. No one is sure who owns the oil or the scrap ship but that can be sorted later. I agree it ain’t fittin’
      🚢Ẍ🐂🐂🐂

      Like

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