Red Sea Live Blog

13 weeks 2 days ago - Syria

Two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a Suez Canal source said.

The ships entered the canal from the Mediterranean Sea early in the morning, heading south towards the Red Sea, and were expected to leave the canal on Tuesday afternoon, the source said.

The ships had docked at the Syrian port of Tartous, in a show of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a regional ally of Iran. [Reuters]

Tags iran, Red Sea, reuters, ships, Suez canal
35 weeks 1 day ago - Egypt

From our team in Egypt: Egyptian authorities have declared a state of emergency over the Red Sea after officials there were informed by Egypt's General Petroleum Corporation that one of their oil wells had been leaking out of three different areas from the ground in Gamsha, a village just north of the tourist city of Hurghada and 60km off the coast of the Red Sea.

A team of response workers have arrived at Gamsha to help clear the damage that's been done so far, but light crude oil is still flowing from its wells. It's already reached the Red Sea - at least 80 barrels of it, and members from a government environmental agency are there to figure how to immediately contain it.

A local chemist pointed out that in 2009, the same incident happened and marine life was severely damaged as it lasted for several days. Egypt's petroleum company warned previous government officials about oil wells being too close to a tourist city such as Hurghada, but the government feared loss in tourism revenue so never took heed to their advice.

Tags Red Sea
41 weeks 2 days ago - Yemen

The UN Security Council has expressed concern Tuesday that Al-Qaeda could exploit the power vacuum in Yemen to gain an even greater foothold in the country.

The 15-nation council urged followers of ailing president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the opposition to quickly settle Yemen's fate because of the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the country.

The UN body gave strong support to efforts by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to end the Yemen crisis.

UN envoy Jamal Benomar reaffirmed warnings that the Yemen economy could collapse in a briefing to the council after his latest mission to the Red Sea nation.

Council members highlighted their "grave concern" over the economic and humanitarian deterioration in Yemen.

"They were deeply concerned at the worsening security situation, including the threat from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," said a statement released after the meeting.

Tags Al-Qaeda, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Arabian Peninsula, GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council, Jamal Benomar, Red Sea, UN Security Council, United Nations
44 weeks 4 days ago - Yemen

Reuters reports that crude oil flows resumed on Saturday through Yemen's main oil pipeline after the link which had been shut since an attack by tribespeople in March was fixed on Friday, shipping sources said.

"They started pumping crude yesterday evening," one Yemen-based shipping source said on Sunday. "It looks like the repairs have been going on for some time."

Yemen's main oil pipeline, which carries around 110,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) of light Maarib crude from Maarib oil fields to the Ras Isa export terminal, had been shut since mid-March when angry tribespeople demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked it.

The lack of crude supply also forced the country's Aden refinery to shut, triggering a fuel shortage in the impoverished country and oil donations from neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni crude pumped by the pipeline is usually shipped on oil tankers from the Ras Isa terminal in the Red Sea to the Aden refinery on the Gulf of Aden.

The first shipment of Yemeni crude from Ras Isa to the Aden refinery since the repairs were completed is expected to be sent later this week, another shipping source said.

"The pipeline has just started pumping. We need a sufficient level of crude accumulating in the tanks before shipping it elsewhere," he said.

Most of Maarib oil goes to Aden refinery which produces oil products for domestic consumption. Only a small percentage of Maarib is exported abroad from Ras Isa.

The Aden refinery, which has a capacity of 150,000 bpd, resumed production after Saudi crude was delivered in mid-June.

Tags aden, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Crude oil, Gulf of Aden, Maarib, Ras Isa, Ras Isa export terminal, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

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