Ship hit by Houthi rebels sinks in Red Sea

A ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank in the Red Sea days after taking on water, officials said on Saturday, the first vessel to be completely destroyed in their campaign against Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The sinking of the Rubymar, which was carrying fertilizer and previously leaked fuel, could cause ecological damage to the Red Sea and its coral reefs.

Ongoing attacks by the Houthis have disrupted traffic on key waterways carrying goods from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Many ships have veered off course.

The sinking could lead to further detours and higher insurance rates for ships plying the waterway, which could push up global inflation and affect aid shipments to the region.

On February 18, the Belize-flagged “Rubymar” drifted north after being hit by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (an important waterway connecting the Red Sea and 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.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Center, the British military agency that oversees waterways in the Middle East, separately acknowledged the sinking of the Ruby on Saturday afternoon.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said earlier on Sunday that the Rubymar sank at 2:15 a.m. local time on Saturday. It released images of the side of the ship as it sank.

“The ship’s cargo of approximately 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizers poses an environmental risk to the Red Sea,” the company said in a statement. “When the ship sinks, it also poses an underwater risk to other ships passing through the busy waterway. Impact risk.”

Rubymar’s manager in Beirut did not respond to a request for comment.
Yemen’s government-in-exile, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said stormy weather in the Red Sea caused the Rubymar to sink. 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 falsely claimed the ship sank almost immediately after the initial attack. Late on Saturday, Houthi leaders sought to blame British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the Ruby incident.

Mohammed Houthi wrote in an online message: “You have the opportunity to salvage the M/V Rubymar ship, just ensure that…the rescue trucks agreed at the time will enter Gaza.”

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Prime Minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, called the sinking of the ship “an unprecedented environmental disaster.”

“This is a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are paying the price every day for the Houthi militia’s adventures, which have not stopped by plunging Yemen into coup disaster and war.”

Greenpeace also expressed concern about the sinking of the ship.

“Without immediate action, this situation could escalate into a major environmental crisis,” said Julian Geresati, Greenpeace’s Middle East and North Africa program director.

“In addition to further leaks of engine fuel, the ship’s sinking could further damage the hull, bringing the water into contact with thousands of tonnes of fertilizers, which could then be released into the Red Sea and disrupt the balance of marine ecosystems, triggering impacts across the food web. chain effect.”

Since 2014, the Houthis have occupied the Yemeni capital Sanaa and ousted the government. The rebels have been fighting a stalemate against the Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press from PBC Planet Labs showed smaller ships alongside the Ruby on Wednesday. It’s unclear who owns the ships. The image shows the Lubima’s stern sinking into the Red Sea but still floating on the water, mirroring previous videos taken of the ship.

Private security company Ambrey separately reported a mysterious incident involving Rubymar on Friday.

“A number of Yemenis were reportedly injured in a security incident on Friday,” Ambre said. It did not elaborate on what the incident involved, and no side in Yemen’s years-long war has claimed a new attack on the ship.

Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies on Friday showed new previously unseen blast damage on the Rubymar, with no other ships nearby. On Saturday, satellite images taken by PBC Planet Labs of the area where the Rubymar had been in recent days no longer showed the ship.

Since November, rebels have repeatedly attacked ships in and around the Red Sea as part of Israel’s war with Hamas. At least one of the ships carried cargo to Iran, the Houthis’ main financier, and an aid ship later headed to Houthi-controlled territory.

Although U.S.-led airstrikes have been underway 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 insist their attacks will continue until Israel halts combat operations in the Gaza Strip, angering the wider Arab world and giving the Houthis international recognition.

The attacks also disrupted aid deliveries to Yemen and Sudan, which are also locked in a months-long war. In recent days, the International Rescue Committee said it had suspended aid deliveries to Port Sudan through the Red Sea due to long delays and significant cost increases.

However, attacks have slowed in recent days. The reason for this is unclear. Defense Department spokesman Maj. Pete Nguyen said four to eight U.S. and allied warships are now patrolling the Red Sea every day.
On Saturday, the Italian Defense Ministry said one of its destroyers, the Caio Duilio, shot down a suspected Houthi drone that appeared to be heading toward Italy in self-defense.

“The terrorist attack by the Houthis is a serious violation of international law and an attack on the security of maritime traffic on which our economy depends,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.