A British ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank in the Red Sea days after taking on water, the first vessel to be completely destroyed in the rebels’ war against Israel against Hamas in Gaza.
The sinking of the Ruby comes as the vital waterway transporting goods and energy from Asia and the Middle East to Europe is disrupted by Houthi attacks.
Many ships have strayed off course. The sinking of the Ruby could lead to further diversions and higher insurance rates for ships plying the waterway, which could push up global inflation and affect aid shipments to the region.
The Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar had been drifting north after being attacked on February 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a regional military official confirmed the ship had sunk. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about the incident.
Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations Center, which oversees waterways in the Middle East, separately acknowledged the sinking of the Rubymar on Saturday afternoon.
Rubymar’s manager in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yemen’s government-in-exile, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late on Friday in stormy weather over the Red Sea. The ship had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, but plans were made to try to tow it to a safe port.
The Iran-backed Houthis claimed the ship sank almost immediately after the attack but did not admit it had sunk.
The U.S. Central Command has previously stated that the fertilizers carried by the ship and the fuel leaked from the ship may cause damage to the Red Sea ecology.
Yemen’s new Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak called the sinking of the ship “an unprecedented environmental disaster.”
“This is a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote in X. “We are paying the price every day for the Houthi militia’s adventures, which have not prevented Yemen from sliding into coup disaster and war.”
Rebels have repeatedly attacked ships in and around the Red Sea since November to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza. At least one of the ships was carrying cargo to Iran, the Houthis’ main financier, as well as an aid ship heading to Houthi-controlled territory.
Despite U.S.-led airstrikes that have continued for more than a month, Houthi rebels are still capable of launching major attacks. These included an attack on the Rubima and the downing of a U.S. drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Houthis have angered the wider Arab world by insisting their attacks will continue until Israel halts combat operations in Gaza.
However, attack activity has slowed down in recent days. The reason for this is unclear.
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