As a direct consequence of the country's poverty, Yemen compares unfavorably with its Middle Eastern neighbors in terms of transportation infrastructure and communications network. The roads are generally poor, although several projects are planned to upgrade the system. There is no rail network, efforts to upgrade airport facilities have languished, and telephone and Internet usage and capabilities are limited. The Port of Aden has shown a promising recovery from a 2002 attack; container throughput increased significantly in 2004 and 2005. However, the expected imposition of higher insurance premiums for shippers in 2006 may result in reduced future throughput. The announcement in summer 2005 that the port's main facility, Aden Container Terminal, would for the next 30 or more years be run by Dubai Ports International brings with it the prospect of future expansion.[1]
Considering Yemen's size, its road transportation system is extremely limited. Yemen has 71,300kilometers of roads, only 6,200kilometers of which are paved. In the north, roads connecting Sanaa, Taizz, and Al Hudaydah are in good condition, as is the intercity bus system. In the south, on the other hand, roads are in need of repair, except for the Aden–Taizz road.
In November2005, the World Bank approved a US$40million project to upgrade 200kilometers of intermediate rural roads and 75kilometers of village-access roads as part of a larger effort to strengthen Yemen's rural-road planning and engineering capabilities. Plans are underway to build an estimated US$1.6billion highway linking Aden (in the south) and Amran (in the north). The road will include more than 10tunnels and halve the travel time between the southern coast and the northern border with Saudi Arabia.[1]
Travel by road in Yemen is often unsafe. Within cities, minivans and small buses ply somewhat regular routes, picking up and dropping off passengers with little regard for other vehicles. Taxis and public transportation are available but often lack safety precautions. Despite the presence of traffic lights and traffic policemen, the U.S. Embassy advises drivers to exercise extreme caution, especially at intersections.
While traffic laws do exist, they are not always enforced. Drivers sometimes drive on the left side of the road, although right-hand driving is specified by Yemeni law. No laws mandate the use of seat belts or car seats for children. The maximum speed for private cars is 100kilometers per hour (62.5miles per hour), but speed limits are rarely enforced. Furthermore, there are many underage drivers in Yemen. Many vehicles are in poor repair and lack basic parts such as functional turn signals, headlights, and taillights. Pedestrians, especially children, and animals are a hazard in both rural and urban areas. Beyond main intercity roads, which are usually paved, the rural roads generally necessitate four-wheel-drive vehicles or vehicles with high clearance.[2]
The British government has a clear warning for their military and civilian employees, or British tourists, about using the roads in Yemen: “In the event of a breakdown of law and order access routes in and out of major cities may be blocked. If you wish to drive outside Sana’a you will need prior permission from the Yemen Tourist Police. Travel permits may take at least 24 hours to be issued and are easiest to obtain through a travel agent. Travel without such permission is likely to result in detention and possible deportation. You should be aware that the consular assistance we can offer outside Sana’a is limited due to restrictions on travel. There have been disturbances in Aden, Lahij and al-Dhali’, which have resulted in closures of the Aden-Sana’a road. These have been short-lived but if you intend to travel by road you should check that the road is open before starting your journey. You can drive in Yemen on an International Driving Permit. Driving standards are poor and mountain roads hazardous. You should avoid all road travel outside the main cities at night. Care should also be taken to avoid minefields left over from Yemen's civil wars. Travelling off well-used tracks without an experienced guide could be extremely hazardous, particularly in parts of the south and the central highlands."[3]
Railways
Yemen does not have any railways, despite several proposals. At the beginning of the 20thcentury, the Ottoman Empire suggested that the Hejaz railway be extended to Yemen, but this never materialized. In 1916 the Royal Engineers built a metre gauge railway from Ma'alla in Aden to Sheikh 'Othman. This was later extended to El Khudad, a total distance of 29 miles (47km). The line was operated by the North Western Railway of India until it closed in 1929.[4] More recently, in2005, the Yemeni government began to investigate rail connections as part of an overall initiative to upgrade its transportation infrastructure.[5] In2008 the Gulf Cooperation Council announced that it had agreed to include Yemen in plans for an integrated regional rail system and launched feasibility studies.[6] Yemen has expressed preference for a coastal route beginning in Aden.[7]
Ports and merchant marine
Yemen's main ports are Aden, Al Hudaydah, Mukalla, and Mocha; Aden is the primary port. In addition, Ras Isa serves as the loading point for oil exports, and a small amount of cargo passes through Nishtun.[1]
Facilities at Aden consist of the Maalla Terminal and the Aden Container Terminal (ACT), which opened in March 1999. The port can handle ro-ro ships, container ships, cargo ships, as well as tankers. In November 2003, following the October 2002 bombing of the French supertanker Limburg off the Yemen coast and the resultant dramatic drop in throughput at the Aden port, the Port of Singapore Authority sold its majority stake in the ACT back to the Yemeni government. In June 2005, Dubai Ports International was selected to manage and operate the ACT (and possibly Maalla Terminal) under a 30-year or longer contract; the Yemeni government will remain a minority shareholder. The Port of Aden has recovered well from the 2002 bombing. In 2004 it had annual traffic of approximately 2,000 vessels and 318,901 twenty-foot-equivalent units of containers, mostly handled by the ACT. For 2005, the port handled 317,897 twenty-foot-equivalent units of containers, more than double the amount for 2003. For the first seven months of 2006, the port handled 207, 687 twenty-foot-equivalent units of containers. However, in May 2006 the London insurance market's Joint War Committee placed Yemen on its list of “areas of perceived enhanced risk,” which is expected to add a war-risk insurance premium to ships operating in the country's coastal waters. This added premium, coupled with the availability of more secure ports in neighboring countries, will likely result in reduced throughput in Yemen's ports in the near future.[1]
The International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden are high risk for piracy; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crew, passengers, and cargo are held for ransom; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators reduced the incidence of piracy in that body of water by more than half in 2010.[8]
The Yemen Coast Guard was established in 2002. According to the US Coast Guard website, they helped the Yemen Coast Guard with their patrol boats: “US Coast Guard Awards Contract to Build Two 87-foot Protector-class Coastal Patrol Boats for the Yemen Coast Guard. September 11, 2009. The Coast Guard awarded a $28.2 million contract to Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., in Lockport, La., on September 11, 2009, to build two 87-foot Protector-class Coastal Patrol Boats for the Yemen Coast Guard. The Office of International Acquisition (CG-922) at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) received a request from the Navy International Programs Office (IPO) to procure these boats on May 13, 2009. The USCG anticipates the delivery to Yemen in August 2011. This procurement is the latest in a series of projects, which further strengthen the longstanding relationship between the US Coast Guard and the Yemen Coast Guard. Since 2003, the USCG has delivered eight 44-foot Motor Life Boats, twelve 25-foot Defender Response Boats, and four 42-foot Fast Response Boats (SPC-NLB) to the Yemen Coast Guard. The USCG has also provided 26 mobile training team visits and 54 resident training slots in USCG schools to the Yemen Coast Guard.”
Yemen has 57airports, 17of which have paved runways. Of the 57airports, 5are international: Aden International, Sanaa International, Taizz, Rayyan, and Al Hudaydah. A major reconstruction and expansion of Aden International was completed in2001, including a new runway that can handle large, long-haul aircraft. Plans to make that airport a regional cargo hub, with an "air cargo village" by2004 appear to have failed. Although construction began in January2003, by the end of the year the managing company had dissolved.[1]
Yemenia is the national airline; in1996 it absorbed South Yemen, the former national carrier. It is expected that Yemenia, which is currently 49percent owned by the Saudi Arabian government and 51percent owned by the Yemen government, will eventually be privatized, but there has been resistance from the Saudis. In2001 the airline carried 858,000passengers. Because the airline's existing fleet of 12airplanes is rapidly becoming outdated, in2002 three new aircraft were leased for eight years, and in early2006 the airline announced plans to acquire six new aircraft, with options for an additional four, beginning in2012.[1]
Airports - with paved runways
total: 17 10,000ft (3,000m) and over: 4 8,000 to 9,999ft (2,438 to 3,048m): 9 5,000 to 7,000ft (1,500 to 2,100m): 3 3,000 to 4,999ft (914 to 1,524m): 1 (2012)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 40 10,000ft (3,000m) and over: 3 8,000 to 9,999ft (2,438 to 3,048m): 5 5,000 to 7,000ft (1,500 to 2,100m): 7 3,000 to 4,999ft (914 to 1,524m): 16 under 3,000ft (910m): 9 (2012)
Pipelines
According to the U.S. government, as of 2010 Yemen had a total of 1,262 kilometers of pipeline. This total includes pipeline designed for gas (88 kilometers) and oil (1,174 kilometers).[1]
There are many modes of transport in Costa Rica but the country's infrastructure has suffered from a lack of maintenance and new investment. There is an extensive road system of more than 30,000 kilometers, although much of it is in disrepair; this also applies to ports, railways and water delivery systems. According to a 2016 U.S. government report, investment from China that attempted to improve the infrastructure found the "projects stalled by bureaucratic and legal concerns".
The Armed Forces of Yemen are the military forces of the Republic of Yemen. They include the Yemeni Army, Yemeni Navy and the Yemeni Air Force. The capital of the country, Sana’a is where the military is headquartered. Per the constitution of Yemen, the President of Yemen serves as the commander-in-chief.
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers. Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the process of unitization of cargoes in exports. Containerization is the predominant form of unitization of export cargoes, as opposed to other systems such as the barge system or palletization. The containers have standardized dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of transport to another—container ships, rail transport flatcars, and semi-trailer trucks—without being opened. The handling system is completely mechanized so that all handling is done with cranes and special forklift trucks. All containers are numbered and tracked using computerized systems.
Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels primarily used to carry heavy items, such as fruit, fresh water, or other heavy merchandise, along the coasts of Eastern Arabia, East Africa, Yemen and coastal South Asia. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty, smaller ones typically around twelve.
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation, without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damage and loss, and allows freight to be transported faster. Reduced costs over road trucking is the key benefit for inter-continental use. This may be offset by reduced timings for road transport over shorter distances.
Al-Hudaydah, also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea.
MV MSC Fortunate, was a container ship owned by Kosmo SVCS Inc., and previously registered to Hyundai Merchant Marine. She was completed in August 1996 and sailed under the flag of Panama. She had a gross tonnage of 64,054 and was capable of speeds of up to 25 knots. Her cargo capacity was 5,551 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
The United States Coast Guard is the coastal defense, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and is one of the country's eight uniformed services. It carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:
The National Cargo Bureau (NCB) a not-for-profit marine surveying organization charged with assisting the U.S. Coast Guard with carrying out the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. The NCB was formed by a group of marine underwriters and the Coast Guard for the purpose of reducing losses of grain ships. Any ship loading grain in the US sailing for a foreign port must have a certificate issued by the NCB in order to sail( See U.S. Coast Guard Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular No. 5-94 - NVIC 05-94 ). The NCB acts with and enforces the regulations of the Coast Guard in this area. Grain ships have unique stability issues and are prone to capsize if loaded improperly. Headquartered in New York City, the NCB has offices throughout United States.
V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is a port in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and is one of the 13 major ports in India. It was declared to be a major port on 11 July 1974. It is second largest port in Tamil Nadu and third largest container terminal in India. V.O. Chidambaranar Port is an artificial port. This is the third international port in Tamil Nadu and it is second all-weather port. All V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority's traffic handling has crossed 10 million tons from 1 April to 13 September 2008, registering a growth rate of 12.08 per cent, surpassing the corresponding previous year handling of 8.96 million tons. It has services to USA, China, Europe, Sri Lanka and Mediterranean countries. The Station Commander, Coast Guard Station Thoothukudi is located at V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, Tamil Nadu under the operational and administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (East), Chennai. The Coast Guard Station V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority was commissioned on 25 April 1991 by Vice Admiral SW Lakhar, NM, VSM the then Director General Coast Guard. The Station Commander is responsible for Coast Guard operations in this area of jurisdiction in Gulf of Mannar. V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority Thoothukudi is an ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code compliant port.
The Yemeni Navy and Coastal Defence Forces is the maritime component of the armed forces of Yemen. Yemen's navy was created in 1990 when North and South Yemen united.
The Ukrainian patrol vessel Sloviansk (P190) was an Island-class patrol boat of the Naval Forces of Armed Forces of Ukraine. Originally named USCGC Cushing when in service with the United States Coast Guard, the vessel was acquired by Ukraine in 2018.
United States Coast Guard Station Woods Hole is a United States Coast Guard station located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The station is home to Sector Southeast New England.
Sakhalin Shipping Company (SASCO) is a Russian shipping company. Headquartered in Kholmsk, on Sakhalin Island's west coast, the company was created in 1945, and privatized in 1992.
MV Qana or Gna was a Yemeni tanker, built in Japan in 1978. On 26 April 2009 it was hijacked of the coast of Yemen by Somali pirates but recovered by the Yemeni coastguard the following day. The captured Somalis were later found guilty of piracy. The ship was broken up in 2021.
The Yemeni Coast Guard is the coast guard service of Yemen and was founded in 2003. It has constabulary and navigation role in Yemen's ports and regional waters, as the country has 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of coastline. Since the start of the Yemeni civil war in 2015, the Coast Guard functions under the internationally recognised government backed by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition. Several ports and coastal facilities in areas controlled by the Saudi-backed government of Yemen are under the authority of the Yemeni Coast Guard, which has its headquarters in Mukalla.
USCGC Margaret Norvell (WPC-1105) is the fifth Sentinel-class cutter , based at Miami, Florida after commissioning. She was launched on January 13, 2012, and delivered to the Coast Guard on March 21, 2013. She was commissioned on June 1, 2013. She was commissioned at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, near where her namesake staffed her lighthouse for decades.
The following lists events that happened in 2009 in Somalia.
MV OS 35 is a bulk carrier registered in Tuvalu, a flag of convenience. The vessel first came into news when a piracy attack on her off the coast of Somalia was thwarted jointly by ships of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy and of the Indian Navy.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
