SANA’A (Dispatches) –
Yemen’s Sana’a-based government has warned a foreign oil tanker not to smuggle crude oil from a Saudi-baked militant-controlled port in the Yemeni southeastern province of Shabwah
“We have sent warning messages to the ship in Qana port not to loot oil,” Yemen’s Military Spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement broadcast by the al-Masirah TV.
The spokesman said the country’s army troops and fighters from allied Popular Committees managed to stop the foreign oil tanker in the waters of the energy-rich southern Shabwah province, as it was trying to smuggle hundreds of thousands of fuel out of the impoverished Arab nation.
Saree also said the Yemeni Armed Forces stand committed to protecting the natural wealth of their oppressed nation.
Meanwhile, the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC) says the Saudi-led coalition, which has been waging a devastating military campaign against Yemen since 2015, has banned two oil tankers bound for the war-ravaged country from docking at Hudaydah port.
Essam al-Mutawakel, a spokesman for the YPC, said in a tweet on Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition seized the vessels named Fos Energy and Princess Halimah, which were carrying thousands of tons of diesel fuel, despite securing UN clearance in Djibouti.
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.