Between the ports of Aden and Al-Hodeidah.. Houthi rumors searching for a false victory
English - Thursday 16 February 2023 الساعة 08:43 am
Al-Mokha, NewsYemen, Ammar Ali Ahmed:
The talk of the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Aden, Abu Bakr Baabid, about the start of commercial ships to divert their course from the port of Aden to the port of Hodeidah sparked controversy among Yemenis on social media, and the matter turned into a fierce attack against the legitimate government and the Arab coalition.
Some held the government responsible for this because of its recent decision to raise the customs dollar in the ports under its control by 50%, from 500 riyals to 750 riyals, while others attacked the leadership of the coalition represented by Saudi Arabia, considering that this is one of the fruits of secret negotiations with the Houthi group with Omani mediation.
This attack was reinforced by the circulation of a report issued by the Yemeni Sea Ports Corporation, which is under Houthi control, on the navigational movement in the port of Hodeidah on Tuesday, February 14, indicating that 4 ships docked at the port dock for unloading, while 7 ships are waiting in the draft for docking and unloading, carrying food commodities on board. And oil derivatives, while 4 other ships are expected to arrive, one of them a container ship.
This report was considered as evidence of the return of activity in the port of Hodeidah and its reception of 15 ships, and confirmation of the allegations made by the Houthi leader, Hussein Al-Ezzi, last Sunday, about allowing direct transit of all commercial ships to the ports of Hodeidah without detention or delay, in contrast to the status quo during the past years, which imposes Ships must undergo inspection in the nearby port of Djibouti by a mechanism supervised by the United Nations.
The discussion on social media turned into attempts by Houthi loyalists to portray the matter as a victory for the group at the expense of the coalition and the government, which was followed by a number of activists opposed to the group under the influence of this information and reports, despite their inaccuracy.
Returning to the daily reports issued by the Yemeni Sea Ports Corporation, which is under Houthi control, on the navigational movement in the port of Hodeidah since the beginning of this month, it is clear that the rate of ships arriving at the port is still the same since the armistice was announced last April, without any significant change. The port has more ships than the number mentioned in last Tuesday's report, which is 15 ships.
For example, a report on Monday, January 30, talks about 16 ships, including 4 ships carrying foodstuffs docked at the port dock, and others in the submerged area waiting to dock with 5 oil derivatives ships, while another 6 ships are expected to arrive.
Also, the increase in the number of ships arriving at the port of Hodeidah, most of which carry foodstuffs, is considered normal, given that it is qualified for this purpose, which made it an outlet for importing about 85% of the food needs of Yemenis, while the port of Aden is allocated for importing other goods.
As for the impact of the government's decision to raise the price of the customs dollar on the merchants' transfer of their activity from the port of Aden to Hodeidah in light of the Houthi group's announcement of customs facilities, the matter is not without fallacies, the most important of which is ignoring the retaliatory measures that the Houthi group recently took to reach this goal.
For days, dozens of trucks loaded with goods coming from the port of Aden have been detained by the Houthi militia in Al-Rahda customs, Taiz governorate, as they refuse to allow them to go to their areas of control with the aim of blackmailing merchants and forcing them to sign pledges not to import from the port of Aden, and to transfer to the port of Hodeidah.
The Houthi militia’s detention of these trucks confirms the lack of influence of the government’s decision to raise the customs dollar in forcing merchants to transfer imports through the port of Hodeidah instead of the port of Aden, which recalls the failure of the group in August of 2021 AD, and its attempt to exploit the legitimate government’s decision to raise the dollar Customs fees range from 250 riyals to 500 riyals, i.e. 100%.
At that time, the group was quick to announce facilities for merchants to push them to import through the port of Hodeidah instead of the port of Aden, as it announced a 49% reduction in customs duties costs for each importer through the port of Hodeidah, and claimed at the time that the number of ships loaded with containers had risen to 193 ships, compared to only three ships.
A year and a half later, the extent of the defeat suffered by the Houthi group is evident through its return today to threatening merchants and forcing them to divert imports from the ports under the control of the legitimate government to the port of Hodeidah.
The defeat came despite all the attempts made by the Houthi group, foremost of which was obstructing the process of transporting goods from the liberated areas to the areas under its control, by insisting not to open a single main road between these areas and to keep it on the side and rugged roads for travelers and cargo trucks.
