Four vessels, including two carrying a total of 45,000 tonnes of gas oil, a ship loaded with 5,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas and a fourth tanker with 22,700 tonnes of fuel oil have received clearance from the coalition, the sources said. As of Wednesday morning, the four vessels had not yet begun moving towards Hodeidah port, which is controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group battling the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The deputy transport minister of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, Nasser Sharif, said on Twitter that a number of oil ships had been allowed to the port of Hodeidah to ease the humanitarian situation. Mohammed Abdulsalam, the Houthi chief negotiator, said: “The provision of fuel, food, medical and basic goods is a humanitarian and legal right for the Yemeni people. Coalition warships off Hodeidah were holding up 14 fuel tankers as of March 23 even though they had secured UN clearance, United Nations data showed.

Source: Egypt Independent March 24, 2021 10:52 UTC