YPC Warns of Imminent Humanitarian Catastrophe Due to Saudi Blockade, Fuel Detention

Yemeni Petroleum Company, YPC, employees renewed, on Tuesday, their demand for the United Nations to meet its responsibilities regarding the maritime piracy of the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression, and its continued detention of fuel tankers.

The company’s employees, in a protest in front of the United Nations office in Sana’a, warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe, due to the cessation of the vital service sectors from providing their services to citizens. A statement issued by the protest condemned the continuation of piracy on fuel tankers in the Red Sea and preventing them from entering the port of Hodeidah, despite obtaining UN permits.

The statement pointed out that these practices continue to exacerbate the catastrophic situation in light of the silence applied by the United Nations, which does not care about the suffering of citizens, and the danger of stopping the service sectors. It called on the United Nations to intervene immediately and urgently to release the fuel tankers, as their continued detention will lead to the collapse of all services due to the depletion of oil stocks, especially health, water and hygiene services, power plants and the transportation sector.

The statement condemned the organized looting by mercenaries of the nation’s riches of crude oil through ships docked in the ports of the occupied governorates, which are loaded with millions of barrels of crude oil, indicating that the value of what has been looted so far has reached more than Six billion dollars. It also called on the free people of the world to stand with the Yemeni people, and put pressure on the countries of the coalition of aggression to stop piracy on fuel ships, and alleviate human suffering.

The Yemen Petroleum Company confirmed that the US-Saudi aggression continues to piracy operations of fuel tankers. A fuel crisis afflicts all Yemeni governorates, as a result of the practices and procedures of the Saudi-Emirati coalition and the pro-aggression government.The coalition of aggression continues to piracy, detaining fuel ships, and preventing them from entering the port of Hodeidah, despite obtaining permits from UN, which aggravates the humanitarian catastrophe due to the suspension of many vital service sectors, especially hospitals, electricity, water, cargo trucks, as well as waste trucks.

Since June 2020, the aggression and its allied government have continued to prevent fuel ships from entering the port of Hodeidah, except for a few ships that entered the port with a large time difference between each ship. Most of the ships left the place where they were being held by the forces of aggression, with their full cargo, after accumulating delay fines, exceeding the price of the cargo.

The coalition’s detention of dozens of fuel ships during more than a year and a half, and preventing them from entering the port of Hodeidah, despite being subject to inspection in accordance with the approved UN inspection and verification mechanism, and having obtained all the necessary permits from the UN inspection mission, caused a suffocating fuel crisis in all governorates. under the authority of Sana’a. Most of the important vital sectors, especially the health sector, are threatened with suspension, while work has been disrupted in many productive and service sectors, which caused economic losses of millions of dollars.

The fuel stations announced that their stocks of oil had run out. Hundreds of vehicles stood in long queues in front of these stations, hoping that shipments of oil would arrive in the coming days. Meanwhile, representatives of commercial power stations told subscribers in several neighborhoods of the capital, Sana’a, that these stations will have to cut off the power for hours during the day and night, as a result of the lack of diesel running these stations.