US embassy cable - 03SANAA1676

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Identifier:	03SANAA1676
Wikileaks:	View 03SANAA1676 at Wikileaks.org
Origin:	Embassy Sanaa
Created:	2003-07-09 14:05:00
Classification:	CONFIDENTIAL
Tags:	ECON ETRD PTER YM ECON
Redacted:	This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001676 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2013 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, PTER, YM, ECON/COM 
SUBJECT: ONE STEP FORWARD FOR ADEN SHIPPING INDUSTRY 
 
REF: A) SANAA 1155 B) SANAA 505 
 
Classified By: Classified by A/DCM S. Alexander for reasons 1.5 (b) and 
 (d). 
 
1. (U) Deputy Minister of Finance Ahmed Ghaleb confirmed to 
Pol/econoff on July 9 that the ROYG had placed fifty million 
USD in an escrow account at HSBC in accordance with the 
January agreement with Lloyds' to lower transshipment 
insurance rates for Yemen (Reftel A). However, Ghaleb added, 
the insurance rates have not yet been lowered because the 
underwriters still are not satisfied with some of the 
technical details of the escrow account. 
 
2. (C) Comment: Embassy worked directly and with the donor 
community to put pressure on the ROYG to fulfill its terms of 
the deal. That, along with a June 10 Financial Times article 
criticizing the ROYG's handling of the matter, finally moved 
the ROYG to fulfill the terms of the agreement.  While this 
is a positive step for the shipping industry, as Reftel A 
points out, HSBC was originally not on the approved list of 
banks by Lloyds. The choice of HSBC by the ROYG suggests that 
continued political maneuvering may still be negatively 
affecting the return of shipping to Aden. End Comment. 
HULL