Threatening with use of force if necessary, the Arab coalition demanded on Monday for Houthi militia to immediately release the UAE-flagged cargo ship they hijacked off the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah on Sunday.
The coalition underscored in its statement that the Houthi militia will be considered fully responsible for its criminal act of piracy against the ship.
Rwabee, according to data from the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com, left the Saudi port of Jubail in the Persian Gulf in early November and was expected to arrive in Jizan on Tuesday.
The coalition spokesperson Brigadier General Turki Al-Maliki said that the hijack of the vessel violates the customary International Humanitarian Law, the San Remo Manual on Armed Conflicts at Sea, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He stressed that the hijacking shows the real threat the extremist group poses on the freedom of maritime navigation and global trade in Bab Al-Mandab Strait and southern Red Sea.
Al-Malki said that the UAE-flagged cargo vessel Rwabee fell victim to hijacking off the coast of Yemen’s western Al Hudaydah Governorate late Sunday night while on a mission from Socotra Island to Jazan port.
Saudi Arabia has claimed that RWABEE was carrying equipment, including ambulance vehicles, medical equipment, telecommunication devices, tents, and technical and security accessories from a field hospital established by Saudi Arabia on the island.
The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree, who confirmed they have seized the vessel, has argued that the ship was carrying military equipment and that it had sailed through Yemeni waters without authorization.
Promising to provide more details later on Monday, Saree wrote on Twitter that RWABEE has engaged in hostilities targeting the Yemeni people’s security and stability.
Despite the UN-sponsored ceasefire, the Saudi-led coalition conducts airstrikes on al-Hudaydah on a regular basis claiming that the Houthis launch many of their missiles, suicide drones, and booby-trapped boats from the province.
Previously on Dec. 20, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) informed that the US Navy 5th Fleet has seized a stateless fishing vessel carrying a large arms shipment during a flag verification in the North Arabian Sea.
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