News - Yemen: The Minister of Transport, Abdulwahhab Al-Durra, confirmed the readiness of Hodeidah port to receive all types of container ships, including the port of Salif, as well as the port of Ras Issa, which completed the unloading of the oil derivatives ship today.

During a meeting held at the Red Sea Ports Corporation in Hodeidah, Saturday, Minister Al-Durra referred to the importance of reactivating the port's navigational activity. He praised the efforts of the Red Sea Ports Corporation to receive ships, facilitate procedures, and provide exemptions for berth rental fees, and the Economic Committee’s provision of an exemption of %49 of customs duties for goods and commodities imported into the port of Hodeidah.

He also praised the role of the local authority in Hodeidah in preparing roads for trucks to and from Hodeidah, stressing that the Ministry is seeking to provide projects in Hodeidah port in cooperation with the Supreme Economic Committee and the relevant authorities to ensure the development of the performance of navigation in the port, which was severely damaged as a result of the bombing of its equipment and mechanisms.

The Minister of Transport stated that the efforts will include, during the coming period, the rehabilitation of Hodeidah Airport in order to enable it to operate and restore its activity to its normal state. 

Al-Durra considered the port of Hodeidah, the main port for more than 70 percent of Yemenis, and restoring its activity and opening it to all commercial ships is an urgent necessity, and an important step after eight years of unfair restrictions and systematic blockade.

Governor of Hodeidah, Mohammad Qahim, stressed the keenness to make more efforts in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport in enhancing readiness to receive container ships, arranging the preparation of work in the Red Sea ports, and addressing challenges and difficulties in order to enhance navigational activity and the movement of ships entering the port.

Earlier this month, the Vice President of the Yemen's Red Sea Ports Corporation, Zaid Al-Washli, affirmed the corporation's technical and operational readiness to receive container ships.

He confirmed that the corporation's ports are in compliance with all the requirements and standards of the International Code for the Security of Ports and Ships issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of UN.

Recently, 4 percent of the population in Yemen suffers from acute food insecurity and is now classified in the fifth stage, the famine stage, the Ministry of Human Rights said during a press conference on the human rights situation during 2022 .

The Ministry pointed out that the countries involved in aggression against Yemen seized more than 95 percent of the ships loaded with commercial materials, food and fuel last year. It confirmed that the blockade prevented the entry of more than 750 items of medicines and medical supplies.