Yemen fortifies defenses at oil terminals to counter Houthi attacks
Militia strikes on Al-Dhabbah facility sparked outrage in Yemen and widespread condemnation from officials, foreign envoys
Yemen’s vital oil terminal in the southern province of Hadramout, which was targeted by Houthi drone attacks, will shut down for some time to repair damaged infrastructure and to strengthen the port’s air defenses, the governor of Hadramout said on Tuesday.
Gov. Mabkhout bin Madhi told Arab News that the Houthis fired a barrage of drones on Monday at AlDhabbah oil terminal on the Arabian Sea as an oil tanker was loading fuel, inflicting damage to one of the port’s single-point moorings. No one was injured, and the majority of the drones were interceptThe ed and destroyed before they could reach their target. The attacks forced local authorities to close the oil facility for at least a month to repair the damage and deploy new
air defenses capable of dealing with similar attacks in the future.
“The procedures will be tightened. Prior protective efforts focused on air defenses. It became apparent now that such drones required jamming tools and firing density at close ranges,” the governor said, adding that the port would reopen once they were confident the defenses could counter drones, missiles, or anything else. “We will work on devising another appropriate plan for this sort of weapon.”
The Houthis claimed credit for the drone attack, pledging to carry out similar assaults in the future. The Houthi attacks on Al-Dhabbah oil terminal have sparked outrage in Yemen and widespread condemnation from government officials and foreign envoys in the country. government said in a strong statement that the Houthi attacks would exacerbate the country’s humanitarian crisis and have serious consequences for the country’s economy, fuel supplies, and international maritime navigation off Yemen’s coasts.