A British-owned ship was targeted by Yemen’s Houthis and has sunk in the Red Sea after sustaining heavy damage over several days. This is the first ship to be fully destroyed in the rebels’ efforts to protest Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
The Rubymar sinking has impacted shipping in the significant route for transporting goods and fuel from Asia and the Middle East to Europe, due to recent Houthi assaults.
Numerous vessels have altered their course away from this path. The potential sinking of the Rubymar may result in additional deviations and increased insurance costs for ships traveling through this waterway. This could potentially contribute to a rise in global inflation and have an impact on deliveries of aid to the area.
On February 18th, the ship Rubymar, which is registered in Belize and operated by a Lebanese company, was attacked in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It had been floating northward since the attack. This strait is an important route connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The sinking of the ship has been confirmed by Yemen’s government, along with a regional military representative. The representative, who requested to remain anonymous, was not given permission to speak to the media about the event.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre, responsible for monitoring Middle Eastern seaways, independently confirmed the sinking of the Rubymar on Saturday afternoon.
The manager of Rubymar, located in Beirut, could not be contacted for comment at this time.
The government of Yemen, currently in exile and supported by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, reported that the Rubymar sunk on Friday evening due to inclement weather in the Red Sea. The ship had been left abandoned for 12 days following the attack, although efforts were made to tow it to a secure harbor.
The Houthis, with support from Iran, claimed that the ship sank promptly following the attack, but did not acknowledge its sinking.
The Central Command of the United States military had previously stated that the cargo of fertilizer and leaking fuel from the ship could potentially harm the ecosystem of the Red Sea.
The sinking of the ship has been described by Yemen’s new prime minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak as an “unprecedented environmental disaster.”
“It’s a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on X. “Every day, we pay for the Houthi militia’s adventures, which were not stopped at plunging Yemen into the coup disaster and war.”
The rebel forces have continuously aimed at ships in the Red Sea and nearby waters in objection to Israeli assaults in Gaza. These vessels have included at least one carrying goods intended for Iran, the primary supporter of the Houthis, and an aid vessel headed for areas under Houthi control.
Although the US-led airstrikes have been ongoing for over a month, the Houthis continue to have the ability to carry out impactful attacks. This includes the recent attack on the Rubymar and the successful take-down of a US drone valued at millions of dollars.
The Houthis maintain that they will continue their attacks, which have sparked outrage throughout the Arab world, until Israel ceases its military actions in Gaza.
There has been a decrease in attacks in recent days, although the cause is still unknown.
Source: theguardian.com
