NYN | News
A British maritime security legal expert has cast doubt on a recent UN panel report claiming that Sanaa forces receive $180 million monthly in illegal fees to allow ships to pass through the Red Sea.
In a LinkedIn post, Stephen Askins, a partner at the law firm Tatham and an expert in maritime security, wrote, “Paying $180 million per month illegally is a significant claim.”
He added, “I think if shipping companies were paying such amounts, I would have known about it.”
Askins explained, “I understand how difficult this would be from a legal, regulatory, and logistical perspective.” He further noted, “I have advised shipowners frustrated by the targeting of their vessels in the Red Sea and have written to the Houthis’ Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center seeking a safe-passage permit, which I received. I never heard even a whisper of a security company suggesting payment in cash.”
He continued, “Shipowners make decisions not to go, they absorb losses, and some find their ships grounded because they don’t want to go, leading to forfeited leases, which costs them substantial sums. But would this lead to paying fees to a U.S. and U.K.-sanctioned organization with no hope of insurance recovery? I don’t believe it.”
In response to a comment asking why this claim was included in the experts’ report, Askins replied, “It appears the source [used by the UN experts] is a single source.”
“I cannot see how this could be accurate,” he concluded.
