Tag: Yemen

Global impact of LNG export stoppage seen limited A surge in attacks on Yemen's oil and gas infrastructure by tribesmen or al Qaeda militants threatens further disruptions or a complete cut in exports.With oil exports at a trickle, the Oct. 15 blast on the vulnerable pipeline feeding Yemen's 6.7 million tonne per year (mtpa) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal is the more significant development for energy markets."Further attacks on energy assets in Yemen are likely in the next year, even if these only target pipelines rather than larger complexes," said Anna Boyd at consultancy Exclusive Analysis.A source close to the matter said production at Yemen LNG, which is led by French oil company Total , is due to resume at the end of the month after the pipeline was blown up, forcing its operators to declare force majeure."The plant is expected to resume production around October 30," the source told Reuters.Total's press office in Paris could not immediately be reached for comment on the restart date or the force majeure -- a clause provided in contracts that allows buyers or sellers to renege on commitments due to events beyond their control.The attacks on oil and gas pipelines over the ...

Pirates ignore tonnage belonging to As the Indian Ocean monsoons wane, international shipping companies are bracing themselves for a new season of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, fearing fresh involvement from actors beyond Somalia. The rains and rough seas of the monsoon season which runs from June to September have traditionally seen a lull in activity. But last month two chemical tankers were seized in Omani territorial waters, one at anchorage two miles off Salalah, the sultanate's main southern port. Worldwide, pirate attacks have been increasing.According to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, attacks on the world's seas totalled 266 in the first six months of this year, up from 196 incidents in the same period last year. Data published earlier this month showed the worldwide figure had risen to 335 events. Somali involvement stood at 188 incidents, with 24 hijackings, 400 crew members held hostage and eight killed. Now the deteriorating domestic security situation in Yemen is adding to concerns. Sana'a, the capital, has seen days of bloody street battles following the unexpected return of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president. Even in more peaceful times, Mr Saleh's authority outside the Yemeni capital was tenuous."Yemen is spinning apart ...

They killed its skipper - now they have been sent to France to face justice Seven men detained by a Spanish warship after they allegedly attacked a French catamaran off Yemen and killed its skipper have been sent to France to face justice, a judicial official said Wednesday.A Paris investigating magistrate will consider bringing charges against the seven who were arrested on Saturday after troops from the warship boarded their skiff and freed the dead skipper's wife, the officials said.The investigation into the killing is being led by the unit charged with organised crime.A German warship had found the yacht the Tribal Kat belonging to French couple Christian and Evelyne Colombo adrift off Yemen on Thursday after it broadcast a mayday appeal for help.There were signs of struggle, including bullet holes and blood stains, and no one was on board, prompting commanders from the EU's anti-piracy naval task force Atalanta to launch an air and sea search for the attackers.The Spanish warship Galicia chased down a suspicious skiff, stormed it, rescued Evelyne Colombo and arrested the seven alleged pirates.The couple's family was later informed that the 55-year-old captain had been killed during the initial attack and his body thrown overboard.Christian ...

They intervened to prevent the hijacking Yemen Coastguards foiled an attempt to hijack a Panamanian oil tanker by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, said the coastguard Ali Albarati on Wednesday.A coastal defense commander told reporters that a naval force patrol had detected the attempt on Tuesday and intervened to prevent the hijacking. The oil tanker continued on its way to the Port of Aden, he said."The naval forces and coastal defense forces are vigilantly protecting all Yemeni territorial waters and attempts to intercept navigation shall not be tolerated... Our forces are running round-the-clock patrols to detect any pirate ships and fishing vessels that enter our waters without permission," the commander said.Source: Yemen Observer

A greater hazard to shipping Somali pirates have been using Yemen's remote Horn of Africa island of Socotra as a refueling hub enabling their attack craft to stay restocked for longer periods at sea and pose a greater hazard to shipping, maritime sources say.Despite an international naval presence in the region, seaborne gangs have been exploiting political turmoil in Yemen to pick up fuel, and possibly other supplies including food, sources told Reuters."Socotra has been used for months if not longer," said Michael Frodl, with C-LEVEL maritime risk consultancy and an adviser to Lloyd's of London underwriters, citing intelligence reports he was privy to."It is perhaps the most important refueling hub for hijacked merchant vessels used as motherships, especially those operating between the Gulf of Aden and India's western waters, mainly off Oman and increasingly closer to the Strait of Hormuz.""A hijacked merchant vessel, unlike a hijacked dhow, has a voracious thirst for fuel and needs a very well stocked refueling station," Frodl said.A Yemen government official said authorities around a month ago had captured 20 people believed to be pirates on the island and handed them over to authorities in Yemen's nearby southern port city of al-Mukalla on the ...

A matter of great importance Yemen's ports have boosted security in recent weeks, port and maritime sources say, as international concern grows that the country's slide into chaos could embolden militants based there.Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country and neighbour to the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, relies heavily on its sea lanes for trade. Aden is Yemen's biggest port and one of the largest natural harbours in the world. Mukalla is a smaller port situated in the Gulf of Aden.Other terminals serving Yemen include Saleef, Hodeidah and Mokha on the Red Sea, the oil export terminal at Ash Shihr, and the LNG export terminal at Balhaf."Security at the ports - the gateways to Yemen - remains a matter of great importance to the three port corporations which have responsibility for ports," said Roy Facey, port development adviser to the Port of Aden. "And measures have been taken to harden the boundaries around key facilities," he told Reuters.Maritime specialists familiar with the ports said new razor wire barriers had been installed around some of these facilities and armed guards had been posted at gates where previously unarmed watchmen were responsible for entry points.The Yemen Coastguard continues to protect the ...