Saudi Arabia Allows Fuel Ships At Yemen’s Hodeidah Port

The coalition led by Saudi Arabia and fighting in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement has allowed four fuel ships to dock at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah port in Yemen, sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia proposed a ceasefire to the war in Yemen. The ceasefire was suggested by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and comes after a couple of rocky weeks in the battle that included missile strikes on Saudi Aramco’s infrastructure.

The ceasefire will be executed, according to Prince Faisal, if the Houthis “announce their acceptance of it.”

The plan includes reopening the Sanaa airport, which has been closed for six years. The ceasefire proposal also came just hours after the Saudi-led coalition forces conducted airstrikes against Houthi military bases in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. Those airstrikes followed an attack on an oil target in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. It also comes just weeks after President Joe Biden announced that the United States would no longer provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis for the war in Yemen.

The clearing of fuel ships to dock at Hodeidah came after the Houthis said they would agree to a ceasefire proposed by Saudi Arabia only if the Saudi-led coalition lifts the air and sea blockade. 

According to Reuters’ sources, four vessels carrying gas oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and fuel oil have been cleared to enter the port of Hodeidah. 

The Houthis, however, say that they would not accept any military or political conditions for the provision of fuel, among other necessities.

In recent weeks, the Houthis have claimed a number of attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, including a drone attack on the Riyadh refinery and a drone-and-ballistic-missile attack at oil facilities at the Saudi port of Ras Tanura, one of the world’s largest oil ports.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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