HODEIDAH, Yemen, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A container ship carrying general commercial goods docked at Yemen's main port of Hodeidah for the first time since at least 2016 on Saturday as parties in Yemen's eight-year war are in talks to reinstate an expired U.N.-brokered truce deal.
Goods arriving at Hodeidah have to be vetted by a U.N. body established to prevent arms shipments from entering Yemen.
In the past seven years, Djibouti-based UNVIM has given approval only to ships carrying specific goods like foodstuffs, fuel and cooking oil.
Port officials said the SHEBELLE, which according to ship tracking data is an Ethiopian-flagged general cargo ship, was given clearance by United Nations inspection body, the Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM).
[1/2] Commercial ships are docked at the Houthi-held Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen February 25, 2023.