Hodeida Governor to AWP: Concerns About Environmental Effects of Sunken Ships Attacked by Houthis
(AWP) - Yemen’s al-Hodeida Governor al-Hassan Taher voiced the government’s concerns about negative effects on the environment caused by sunken ships targeted by the Houthi group in the Red Sea, asserting the damage will not include Yemen only but all littoral countries.
“The government has expressed grave concerns about the environmental effects of sunken ships struck by the Houthis. This criminal act is not going to harm Yemen only but all countries overlooking the Red Sea as well. The situation here is really serious,” he said in statements to the Arab World Press (AWP).
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the group’s leader, had confirmed in a televised address the sinking of the Greek-owned Tutor vessel in an attack by his group.
The Houthis boarded the ship, booby-trapped and detonated it after hitting it with a gunboat, he added, noting another ship is about to sink in the Gulf of Aden.
Britain had announced that the crewmen of the Tutor ship attacked by the Houthis last week were reportedly missing.
The U.S. army had announced that it failed to control the fire in the Ukrainian ship Verbena, adding the vessel’s crew left it in the Gulf of Aden.
Taher urged the international community to stand up together to confront the Houthi attacks.
“We believe that international cooperation is vital in bringing an end to the harms caused by the Houthis or in confronting this potential environmental effect. The Yemeni government cannot handle this effect alone. Sometimes, the site is far off Yemeni coasts near other countries like Djibouti, Eritrea and others. This effect will harm all sides,” he stressed.
“Even if these ships were loaded with non-oil or non-toxic cargo, they themselves have their own derivatives. One ship after another would expand the damage to all countries overlooking the Red Sea,” he added.
The governor pointed out that the ships sank in areas under the Houthis’ control and the internationally-recognized government, accordingly, cannot assess the consequent environmental hazards.
Houthi said his group carried out 10 military operations this week with ballistic missiles, drones and gunboats off the Red Sea coast.
He noted that the group also targeted the U.S. aircraft carrier Eisenhower with rockets for the third time in the northern zone of the Red Sea and chased it.