Government neglect.. Hodeidah port achieves record production of 53% at the expense of Aden port
English - Thursday 14 September 2023 الساعة 09:42 am
Hodeidah, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The port of Hodeidah has witnessed an increase in commercial activity since the beginning of 2023, as the legitimate government and the United Nations continue to provide facilities and concessions to the Houthi militias under the guise of strengthening peace efforts and ending the war.
The Houthi militias acknowledged, through the leader Muhammad bin Ishaq, appointed to the position of Chairman of the Red Sea Ports Corporation in Hodeidah, that the port of Hodeidah, under their control, recorded significant growth in its commercial activity during the current year 2023, and that the growth rate reached 52% for the year 2022. He explained that The number of commercial ships arriving at the port during the current year increased by 75% over last year.
A few days ago, a navigational statistic showed the movement of ships flowing towards the port of Hodeidah at the expense of the port of Aden, which is witnessing a clear decline after the facilities provided by the United Nations with clear disregard from the legitimate government of Yemen.
The statistics were recorded for commercial activity on Monday, September 11, in the port of Hodeidah and Sunday, September 10, in the port of Aden. The number of ships anchored on the docks of Hodeidah Port reached 7 ships, distributed among (4 ships carrying food supplies, two building materials ships, and a container ship); While the number of ships anchored in the port of Aden is 5 ships, distributed among (two building materials ships, two oil derivatives ships, and a container ship).
Regarding the ships waiting in the anchorage, the number in Hodeidah reached about 20 ships, varying between oil derivatives, foodstuffs, construction materials, and containers. While there are no ships waiting in the port of Aden. The statistics for Monday and Sunday showed that about 5 ships were expected to arrive at the port of Hodeidah. While the port of Aden expects the arrival of 6 ships.
The growing activity of the port of Hodeidah is accompanied by a Houthi media campaign promoting accusations that the ports of Hodeidah are still besieged by the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), which is delaying ships heading to the port of Hodeidah from the inspection headquarters in Djibouti.
During the past few days, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority (UKMTO) revealed the reasons for the continued growth of commercial traffic in the port of Hodeidah at the expense of the port of Aden. The British Authority hinted at international complicity in being behind the change in the course of many ships near the port of Aden towards the port of Hodeidah.
The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority published warnings about the presence of an entity impersonating a UN inspection and working to direct commercial ships towards the Yemeni ports of Hodeidah.
The authority, one of the branches of the British Royal Navy, said in a statement that it had received information about the presence of an entity impersonating the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism in Yemen (UNVIM), directing commercial ships located in the vicinity of the Aden port to the port of Hodeidah, which is controlled by the Houthi militia. Calling on commercial ships in the vicinity to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.
For his part, the CEO of the Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation, Muhammad Amzarba, confirmed that many merchants and importers who used to deal with the port of Aden and obtained great facilities were forced to move to the port of Hodeidah due to the threats they faced from the Houthi militias during the past months.
He added in a statement that the Houthi militia, as part of their economic war, directed their arrows at capital, merchants, and importers in areas under their control, and forced them to import their goods only through the port of Hodeidah. Explaining that the costs of transportation, unloading and shipping operations through the port of Aden are better than the port of Hodeidah. Amzarba pointed out that shipping costs in Hodeidah are about 50% higher than in the port of Aden, in addition to the long waiting days and other things that characterize liberated ports in general.
He pointed out that if the Houthi militias continue their violations against merchants importing through legitimate ports, in addition to the continued opening of the port of Hodeidah without controls, commercial activity in the port of Aden and the liberated ports will decrease by 50% of the total previous commercial activity.
The CEO of the Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation called on the Yemeni government and the Presidential Leadership Council to take action and not wait until the legitimate ports are destroyed. Pointing out that the recent government measures, including the security deposit and stopping any increases in fees collected at the port of Aden, facilitated and facilitated private commercial activity and the desire of importers to return to using the port of Aden.
He pointed out the importance of taking more navigational facilities to enhance the activity of the port of Aden and the liberated ports. Stressing that the recent measures have strengthened the confidence of merchants in the port of Aden and limited the impact of the reopening of the port of Hodeidah.
