HODEIDA – Six Yemeni sailors disappeared 15 days ago out of Yemeni waters, and there is now new information about what happened to them.

The sailors vanished after they voyaged out from Al-Khookha, according to the Yemen Coast Guard.

Brigadier Ali Raf’e, head of the Yemen Coast Guard, told the Yemen Times that a group of six sailors were about to be blown out from Yemeni territorial waters and into Sudanese waters because of the changes in weather conditions.

Raf’e said there is currently contact between Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sudanese government to resolve this issue and work to bring the sailors back home.

“Sudanese authorities are very strict because these are their territorial waters, and the matter is now in the hands of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said.

The Sudanese Embassy in Sana’a was unreachable for comment.

Ali Al-Nahari, head fisherman in Hodeida, said there are a lot of obstacles faced by Yemeni fisherman, especially when foreign boats enter Yemeni territorial waters.

He said this matter reduces the amount of sea wealth possessed by Yemen; therefore, Yemeni fishermen are forced to leave Yemeni territorial waters in search of fish to catch. This can cause problems if and when foreign governments in foreign waters catch them.

“There are about 700 boats and 200 fishermen who’ve been captured—who were caught boating in the Red Sea beach in Eritrea,” he added.