Iran’s Aid Ship to Arrive in Yemeni Port on May 21


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian cargo ship “Nejat” (Rescue) loaded with 2500 tons of aid supplies for war-stricken Yemen will dock in Hodeida port on May 21, the ship’s captain announced.

“It is four days since we set sail from Bandar Abbas and God willing, given the weather ahead, we will enter (Yemen’s) Hodeida port six days later on May 21,” Captain Masoud Qazi Mir-Saeed told the Tasnim News Agency on Friday evening.

He said currently the ship is located 30 miles from Omani coasts and is sailing toward the Gulf of Aden.

The captain emphasized that the ship is moving toward Yemen, adding that everything for the voyage is good and there is no problem.

The cargo ship, which belongs to Iran's Valfajr Shipping Company, left Iran for Hodeida on Monday evening.

It has been loaded with 700 tons of flour, 1200 tons of rice, 400 tons of canned food, 50 tons of medication and health products, and 50 tons of mineral water.

The ship's journey comes after Yemen agreed to a five-day truce proposed by Saudi Arabia.

The ceasefire, which is to allow humanitarian aid in, came into effect at 11 pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday.

On March 26, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies began to launch deadly air strikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Some seven weeks of deadly aerial attacks on Yemen have killed over 3,500 people and left some 6,200 others injured.