Authorities in a port controlled by Yemen’s Houthi movement have seized two oil tankers from international traders in a payment dispute, according to the ships’ owners, an incident which could make it more difficult for the country to import vital supplies. Ocean Tankers, the Singapore-based owner of the two 74,000 tonne ships, the Chao Hu and the Hong Ze Hu, confirmed that the vessels were being denied permission to leave the Red Sea port of Hodeida, Yemen’s second-biggest port, which is controlled by the Houthi movement that also holds the capital Sanaa. Importing goods into Yemen became a major challenge since civil war broke out in the country and a Saudi-led coalition imposed a maritime blockade in its fight against the Houthi group that drove President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from Sanaa in 2014. Hadi’s government now controls the southern port of Aden, but Sanaa and the north are in […]