Saudi-led coalition seizes another Yemeni ship in act of piracy

The Saudi-led coalition has seized yet another Yemen-bound fuel ship and prevented it from reaching the port of Hodeidah, in a new act of piracy as the Yemeni people suffer dire living circumstances due to the siege imposed on the country.

According to Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television website, the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC), said the fuel ship, Lady Sarah, was seized on Thursday.

The latest seizure "brings the number of Yemen-bound fuel ships confiscated to three," YPC said in the statement.

The company explained that the Saudi-led coalition backed by the US detained the ship and prevented it from reaching the port of Hodeidah despite its inspection in Djibouti and obtaining the permits through the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNIVM).

Moreover, the statement held the United Nations, along with the forces of the Saudi-led coalition which is backed by the United States and some Western countries responsible for the humanitarian and economic repercussions of such blatant violations.

Yemeni vessels have been repeatedly impounded despite being inspected and holding entry permits from the United Nations even during the temporary United Nations-mediated ceasefire which took effect in April and came to a dead end this month.

The truce expired on October 2 amid the invading coalition's constant violations of the agreement and its refusal to properly lift a siege that it has been enforcing against Yemen simultaneously with the war.

Ansarullah Spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said in a tweet early October that the ceasefire ended and was not extended "due to the aggressor countries' disregard for the humanitarian demands and natural rights of the Yemeni people.” 

The coalition, he said, had refused to reopen the Sana'a International Airport and Yemen's lifeline Al-Hudaydah port, and denied the Sana'a government access to the country's oil and gas wealth so it can pay Yemeni people's salaries.

Over the past one and a half years, the Saudi-led coalition has held dozens of ships, blocking Yemen’s much-needed fuel imports amid a crippling siege. The act of maritime piracy has deteriorated the humanitarian situation in Yemen, while much of the country’s vital sectors, including hospitals as well as electricity and water services, have already come to a halt.

More than 23 million Yemenis face hunger, disease, and other life-threatening risks as the country’s basic services and economy are collapsing, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Coordination (OCHA).

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war against Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western states.

The objective was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.

Despite killing tens of thousands of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the Saudi-led coalition failed to fulfill its goals.

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