Official: 43 Iranian vessels violated Yemeni waters

English - Tuesday 18 December 2018 الساعة 03:44 pm
NewsYemen.net

From: Faris Saeed

The Yemeni authorities have seized 13 Iranian vessels inside Yemeni territorial waters over the past three years, including nine ships seized in the Socotra archipelago and the others in different areas, according to the Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafayen

The Minister speech was during "a seminar on the social and economic dimensions of the interference of Iranian ships in Yemeni waters and their negative impact on the activity of fishermen, the fishery sector and maritime navigation in Yemeni and regional waters", organized by the Ministry of Fisheries in coordination with the fisheries Authority and the University of Aden

Kafayen confirmed that "the ships that were seized are among the 43 vessels that illegally entered Yemeni waters and practiced various prohibited activities during 2016

He added that the Yemeni authorities seized ships loaded with arms for more than once on its way to the Houthi militia, and other vessels engaged in prohibited activities under the cover of fishing

The Minister pointed out that the Iranian ship (Saviz), which continues to dock in the Red Sea, does not care to continue to cause much suffering in the region

Washington Free Beacon, reported earlier, that an Iranian ship believed to be masked as a cargo vessel has been identified as the "Saviz ship" stationed in the Red Sea providing targeting information for Houthi anti-ship attacks, which have increased in recent months, including a late July attack by Iranian-backed rebels on a Saudi oil tanker

U.S. officials familiar with the Saviz's actions in the Red Sea told the Free Beacon the Iranian vessel is barely attempting to obfuscate its military role in aiding Houthi rebels in Yemen

"The prohibited activities of vessels under the cover of fishing were illegally and represented a blatant attack on Yemeni fisheries and water", The Minister of Fisheries said

He added that the Yemeni Government was and still is facing these Iranian aggressions in coordination with the Arab coalition forces Led bu Saudi Arabia through the diplomacy channels and international forums

The Minister confirmed many fishermen have lost their lives due to the attacks by Iranian vessels, and they have already received confirmed reports and statements from the authorities on the Yemeni coast about the crimes of attacks on fishermen, including the abduction of a number of fishermen, beatings, and confiscation of property of fishermen

The Minister of Fisheries said: We have already sent messages about attacks on fishermen to the international community in order to assume its responsibilities to the Iranian intervention in Yemen, especially the Yemeni territorial waters, since these attacks by Iranian vessels threaten the lives of Yemeni fishermen and international navigation in Areas of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea

He stressed the need for the international community to hold its responsibilities by obliging Iran to desist from its interventions and show respect for international law and Yemeni sovereignty and to assume full responsibility for the various damages resulting from its interventions

The president of the University of Aden Dr. Al Khader Laswar, said that Iran constitutes the biggest threat to navigation in the Red Sea, due to its hostile policies, its full support to the rebels and the contributions of its political agenda directly or indirectly to the mining of the maritime area through its military presence

Dr. Laswar warned of the seriousness of the presence and activities of Iranian vessels in the Yemeni territorial waters, the Red Sea and international traffic