It will mark the first concrete step in an operation years in the making aimed at preventing a massive oil spill in the Red Sea. “We have reached a critical stage in this salvage operation,” Steiner told The Associated Press hours after the salvage team on Saturday managed to moor the replacement vessel alongside the Safer tanker in the Red Sea. The UN has for years campaigned to raise funds for the salvage operation which cost $143 million, including purchasing a new storage vessel to replace the rusting tanker, Steiner of the UNDP said. “Many thought it would never happen,” the UNDP administrator told the AP from New York, adding the salvage team has up to five weeks to complete the whole operation. After transferring the oil, the replacement vessel would be connected to an under-sea pipeline that brings oil from the fields, he said.
