A ship earlier hit by Houthi rebels sinks in the Red Sea
It is the first vessel lost in conflict
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES >> A ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The sinking of the Rubymar, which carried a cargo of fertilizer and previously leaked fuel, could cause ecological damage to the Red Sea and its coral reefs.
Persistent Houthi attacks already have disrupted traffic in the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Already, many ships have turned away from the route.
The sinking could see further detours and higher insurance rates put on vessels plying the waterway — potentially driving up global inflation and affecting aid shipments to the region.
The Belize-flagged Rubymar had been drifting northward after being struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen's internationally recognized government, as well as a regional military official, confirmed the ship sank. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization was given to speak to journalists about the incident.
The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which watches over Middle East waterways, separately acknowledged the Rubymar's sinking Saturday afternoon.
The Rubymar's Beirutbased manager did not respond to a request for comment.
Yemen's exiled government, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late Friday as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea. The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.
The Iran-backed Houthis had falsely claimed the ship sank almost instantly after the initial attack. Late Saturday, a Houthi leader tried to blame British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the Rubymar.
“You have an opportunity to salvage the ship M/V Rubymar by guaranteeing ... that the relief trucks agreed upon at that time would enter Gaza,” Mohammed alHouthi wrote in an online message.
Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, the prime minister of Yemen's internationally recognized government, called the ship's sinking “an unprecedented environmental disaster.”
“It's a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Every day, we pay for the Houthi militia's adventures, which were not stopped at plunging Yemen into the coup disaster and war.”
Greenpeace also raised concerns about the ship sinking.
“Without immediate action, this situation could escalate into a major environmental crisis,” said Julien Jreissati, program director at Greenpeace MENA.