UN reports Yemen port damage

UN officials estimate that less than 25% of existing port capacity is now available and this is severely hampering the ability to get relief supplies to the people in Yemen.

In Hodeida the damage is particularly bad. It is being reported that four of the port’s five tugboats have been sunk and the fifth unit has been damaged, while port capacity here and at the Ras Issa oil terminal has been “reduced by 70%.”

Further UN reports state that as of January 2025 there is approximately two months of cereal and fuel inventories in the ports.

The Red Sea ports of Yemen have been under the control of the Houthis since western areas of Yemen were seized in 2014 and early 2015. For the past decade, Hodeida has been repeatedly used to launch missile and drone attacks on Israel, unsurprisingly resulting in airstrike reprisals.