Al Houthi attack on tankers ‘irresponsible’
UAE ready to take on more of security burden in Middle East
The UAE has strongly condemned the Al Houthi attack that damaged two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, saying the attack could have caused an environmental disaster in the key international shipping corridor.
“The attack is an act of terrorism that has jeopardised international [maritime] navigation, and confirms the continued threat of the Al Houthi terrorist militia to the freedom of navigation and world trade in the Red Sea,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia took the extraordinary measure of temporarily suspending oil shipments through the Bab Al Mandeb Strait following the attack.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the attack was “totally irresponsible”. He told an audience in London yesterday: “The effect of it actually is much wider than the region. I think this is another example of why the Al Houthi takeover of the Yemeni government in Sana’a should end.”
The UAE is part of a Saudiled coalition of Arab states fighting to gain control of the Al Houthi-occupied main port of Hodeida. “The only way forward is to get Hodeida,” Gargash said. “What we are planning to do is give diplomacy every possible chance to secure that.”
Gargash said the UAE was ready to take on more of the security burden in the Middle East because it can no longer rely on military operations by allies the US and Britain. “We are ready to take up more of the burden of security in our own neighbourhood. We know that we can no longer rely on the US or the UK to lead such military operations.”
“We are ready to take up more of the burden of security in our own neighbourhood. We know that we can no longer rely on the US or the UK to lead such military operations.” Anwar Gargash | UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Saudi Arabia took the extraordinary measure of temporarily suspending oil shipments through the Bab Al Mandeb Strait after two tankers came under attack by Yemen’s Iran-allied Al Houthi militia on Wednesday.
The two vessels, each carrying two million barrels of oil, belong to the Saudi National Shipping Co, Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih said in a statement posted online. One of the two was hit and suffered minor damage; there were no injuries or oil spills as a result.
In the interest of the safety of ships and their crews and to avoid the risk of oil spill, Saudi Aramco has temporarily halted all oil shipments through Bab Al Mandeb with immediate effect, Al Falih said. Saudi Arabia has been fighting Al Houthi militia in Yemen for more than three years.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash tweeted: “The targeting of two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea reaffirms the need to liberate Hodeida from the Al Houthi militia. The systematic attack on maritime navigation is a terrorist act that exposes the [true] nature of Al Houthis and their aggression.”
Yemeni Vice-President Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar said Al Houthis carried out a deliberate terror attack to disrupt maritime traffic and hinder peace efforts.
According to the official Yemeni news agency, Al Ahmar said the repeated targeting of shipping lines in international waters by Al Houthis obstructs the UN-led peace process. He accused Al Houthis of using Hodeida port to launch terror attacks.
The coalition launched an offensive in June to wrest Yemen’s main port of Hodeida from Al Houthis in a bid to cut off the primary supply line of the militia, which continues to occupy the capital Sana’a.
Earlier this month, the alliance called a halt to the offensive to give UN efforts a chance to reach a political solution that would avert an assault on the port, a lifeline for millions.
Crucial sea link
The Bab Al Mandeb Strait, off the coast of Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea, connects the Red Sea with the Arabian Sea. The strait allows for crude exports into the European market via either the Sumed pipeline that links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean through Egypt or the Suez Canal.
A full closure of the strait, which at its narrowest point is just 29km wide, would force tankers sailing from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the UAE “around the southern tip of Africa, which would add to transit time and cost,” according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Saudi Arabia can still use its East-West pipeline to ship crude into Yanbu on the Red Sea, bypassing the strait and keeping the European market within regular reach.