Despite UN Approval, Saudi-Led Coalition Seizes Oil Tankers Headed for Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Saudi-led coalition has reportedly forbidden two oil tankers headed for the Yemen from docking at Hudaydah port, according to the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC).
In spite of receiving UN approval in Djibouti, the Saudi-led coalition seized the ships Fos Energy and Princess Halimah, which were transporting thousands of tons of diesel fuel, according to Essam al-Mutawakel, a spokesman for the YPC, in a tweet on Thursday.
Mutawakel added that the latest incident brings to three the number of fuel ships impounded by the Riyadh-led military alliance.
“Such measures are meant to increase the suffering of the Yemeni nation and tighten the ongoing siege,” the senior Yemeni energy official noted.
Last week, the YPC said in a statement that the continued detention of Yemen-bound fuel ships has led to substantial fines over lengthy delays in offloading the shipments, and the figure stands at approximately 11 million dollars.
He added that only 33 fuel ships out of 54 tankers reached the strategic Hudaydah port in western Yemen during the six-month UN-brokered truce, which was first accepted in April and saw a lull in fighting between warring sides in the impoverished Arab nation.
The Yemen Petroleum Company also held the Saudi-led coalition of aggression and the United Nations fully responsible for the adverse humanitarian and economic repercussions of the ongoing blockade.
Meanwhile, the minister for finance in Yemen’s National Salvation Government said on Thursday night that the Saudi-led coalition continues to loot the country’s natural resources.
“Efforts to stop the plundering of Yemen's crude oil have proven successful; but the process has not come to a complete halt yet,” Rashid Abu Houham stated.
He added, “A significant proportion of Yemen’s natural reserves and national assets is being looted in Hadhramaut province and Socotra Island. Their proceeds must spent for better livelihoods of Yemeni people.”
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states.
The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly Hadi regime and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.