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UN / SFO SAFER TANKER PRESSER
STORY: UN / SFO SAFER TANKER PRESSER
TRT: 02:33
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 25 JULY 2023, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN headquarters
25 JULY 2023, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, briefing room with Steiner on the screen
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Program (UNDP):
“Years and months of preparation for the salvage operation of the FSO Safer lay behind us. Many challenges, many hurdles. But as of this morning, we are very pleased to report that the pumps are on. The pipes have been laid between the FSO Safer and the Yemen, the replacement tanker, and the first gallons of oil have in fact been pumped off the SAFER onto the Yemen.”
4. Wide shot, press room dais
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Program (UNDP):
“As we speak to you today, we are very relieved, at this moment, that the operation of pumping oil has finally begun. But let us also be clear, this is just another step in this highly complex operation that ultimately will lead to the emptying of the tanks, then the cleaning of the tanks, then the towing away, and the sound and ecologically and socially responsible scrapping of the FSO Safer, and the delivery of a convoy. All of these are part of this operation FSO Safer.”
6. Wide shot, press room dais
7. SOUNDBITE (English) David Gressly, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, United Nations:
“Right behind me, you can see the FSO Safer itself, and just beyond that is the Yemen, formerly known as Nautica, the vessel that is currently receiving oil to offload from the FSO Safer.”
8. Close up, journalist asking question
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David Gressly, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, United Nations:
“As you know, there's over a million barrels of oil on board, so this is going to take some time to finish. We will know shortly how much we have actually moved today. They're actually taking the sounding readings as we speak to see what quantity was moved. But we do expect that this will take approximately 19 days to move the 1.1 million barrels off of the vessel.”
10. Close up, journalists asking question
11. SOUNDBITE (English) David Gressly, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, United Nations:
“The broader coalition working to prevent the catastrophe includes countless individuals and organizations that provided invaluable expertise and in kind support. It includes environmental groups like Greenpeace and in Yemen, Holm Akhdar, and it includes private companies like the Fahem Group that propose the initiative that was the basis for the plan that we're implementing today. I think this also shows the breadth of knowledge of the operation of the concern and the threat that this vessel presented.”
10. Wide shot, end of presser
The United Nations has started pumping oil off the decaying vessel FSO Safer, moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, averting a potential spill and environmental disaster, UN officials have said.
Briefing journalists in New York on Tuesday (25 July) via video, the Administrator of the UN Development Program (UNDP), Achim Steiner, and the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, David Gressly, marked the milestone but warned it’s the beginning of a long process.
Steiner said, “Years and months of preparation for the salvage operation of the FSO Safer lay behind us. Many challenges, many hurdles. But as of this morning, we are very pleased to report that the pumps are on. The pipes have been laid between the FSO Safer and the Yemen, the replacement tanker, and the first gallons of oil have in fact been pumped off the SAFER onto the Yemen.”
The UNDP chief said the team involved was “very relieved” that “the operation of pumping oil has finally begun.”
But, Steiner warned, “this is just another step in this highly complex operation that ultimately will lead to the emptying of the tanks, then the cleaning of the tanks, then the towing away, and the sound and ecologically and socially responsible scrapping of the FSO Safer, and the delivery of a convoy.”
Speaking to journalists from a ship supporting the operation, Gressly said, “As you know, there's over a million barrels of oil on board, so this is going to take some time to finish. We will know shortly how much we have actually moved today. They're actually taking the sounding readings as we speak to see what quantity was moved. But we do expect that this will take approximately 19 days to move the 1.1 million barrels off of the vessel.”
The Resident Coordinator noted that “the broader coalition working to prevent the catastrophe includes countless individuals and organizations that provided invaluable expertise and in kind support.”
Gressly added, “It includes environmental groups like Greenpeace and in Yemen, Holm Akhdar, and it includes private companies like the Fahem Group that propose the initiative that was the basis for the plan that we're implementing today. I think this also shows the breadth of knowledge of the operation of the concern and the threat that this vessel presented.”
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