In this handout satellite image, a close-up view of the 'FSO Safer' can be seen off the port of Ras Isa. AFP / Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies
In this handout satellite image, a close-up view of the 'FSO Safer' can be seen off the port of Ras Isa. AFP / Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies
In this handout satellite image, a close-up view of the 'FSO Safer' can be seen off the port of Ras Isa. AFP / Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies
In this handout satellite image, a close-up view of the 'FSO Safer' can be seen off the port of Ras Isa. AFP / Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies

Gulf

UN ‘disappointed’ as Houthis delay oil tanker rescue

Planned mission to repair leaky 'Safer' tanker is repeatedly pushed back by Iran-backed rebels

James Reinl
James Reinl

June 04, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The UN on Wednesday said it was “clearly disappointing” that Yemen's Houthi rebels are again delaying a repair mission for a decaying oil tanker, which is threatening to spill its million-barrel load into the Red Sea.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said talks with the Iran-backed Houthis over the past 10 days failed to approve the long-planned mission to reach the stranded FSO Safer and patch its leaky hull.

Mr Dujarric said the Houthis were "not ready to provide the assurances we need to deploy a UN mission to the Safer tanker".

He said the UN wanted engineers to inspect the vessel and carry out repairs, but the Houthis, who are known formally as Ansar Allah, have their own plans and have not fully endorsed the mission.

“We've had very intensive discussions on this with Ansar Allah over the last 10 days, trying to bridge the gaps in objectives and understanding,” Mr Dujarric said in New York.

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“We've also seen direct engagement by member states to try to unblock things, which has been helpful, but we're not there yet.”

The 45-year-old vessel has been stranded eight kilometres south-west of the Ras Isa oil terminal, 60km north of the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah, since 2015, when the rebels took control of the area.

Experts say it could rupture at any time, releasing 1.1 million barrels of oil into the sea.

The UN has repeatedly asked the Houthis to allow them to stop a maritime disaster that experts fear would be four times worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill near Alaska.

Houthi officials approved a mission late last year but have since backtracked.

Analysts say the rebels want the FSO Safer in place to profit from its cargo and future oil sales, and to increase the risk of any seaborne assault by foreign forces.

The UN Security Council will on Thursday hear from Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, and others in a meeting devoted to the Safer.

A major spill would hurt tourism, fishing and desalination plants across Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti, and impede a shipping lane that facilitates as much as 10 per cent of global trade.

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House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site

Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area

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About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor

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Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled

Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays

Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters

Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill 

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3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.

What is Diwali?

The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.

According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.

In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.  

 

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