YPC: US-Saudi Aggression Detains 20 Oil Ships

The forces of the US-Saudi aggression are still holding 20 oil vessels, including two ships loaded with diesel and two ships carrying domestic gas, despite being subject to the inspection mechanism and having obtained UN permits, Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC) announced on Monday, according to al-masirah.

The company stated in a statement published on its Facebook page that the coalition of aggression continues to detain 16 oil ships with a total tonnage of 400,979 tons of gasoline and diesel.

“The coalition detains oil ships for varying periods, the maximum of which is for 147 days.”

It emphasized that the aggression’s detention of ships is a clear violation of the provisions of the International Convention on Human Rights, the rules of international humanitarian law and all applicable laws and customs.

The company stressed that the detention violates and ignores the Stockholm Agreement, which stressed in its entirety the need to facilitate the arrival of basic materials and humanitarian aid to the port of Hodeidah in a manner that meets the needs and aspirations of the Yemeni people.

The YPC noted that these realistic data completely contradict what was stated in the briefings of the UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, before the Security Council, on January 16, 2020, and on October 22, 2019, as he claimed that fuel ships entered Hodeidah port without any obstacles.

The company indicated that the coalition of aggression continues to blockade Yemeni citizens through acts of maritime piracy aimed at impeding the arrival of ships of oil derivatives, domestic gas, food, medicine and other urgent needs to the port of Hodeidah.

“Ships are prevented from arriving into Hodeidah port despite the completion of all inspection procedures in Djibouti through the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM),” it added. “These ships have obtained UN permits that confirm that the cargo conforms to the conditions stipulated in the concept of verification and inspection mechanism operations.”

For more than four months, Yemen has been suffering from a suffocating crisis in oil derivatives. The Ministry of Health and service ministries have warned of stopping providing their services due to the depletion of petroleum and diesel, while citizens suffer and park their cars in long lines waiting for a few rations of fuel.

The aggression’s piracy against Yemen’s oil ships comes in light of an international silence identified and complicit with the coalition and is indifferent to the suffering of the Yemenis.

Y.A