UK-Owned Rubymar Sinks in Red Sea Following Houthi Attack, Prompting Environmental Concerns
In a recent development, the Rubymar, a UK-owned vessel, has reportedly sunk in the Red Sea after being targeted by Houthi militants last month, as confirmed by Yemen’s internationally recognized government on Saturday. The incident has raised alarms about a potential environmental catastrophe, with the ship carrying a cargo of fertilizer.
If verified, this marks the first vessel lost since the Houthis initiated attacks on commercial shipping in November. The attacks have compelled shipping firms to reroute vessels on a longer and more expensive journey around southern Africa.
Houthi militants claim their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The Yemeni government team, which visited the partially submerged Belize-flagged cargo ship on Monday, officially declared its sinking in the southern Red Sea on Friday night.
While the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet has not yet confirmed the sinking, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported a ship sinking without specifying the vessel’s identity.
Earlier, the U.S. military reported significant damage to the freighter, causing an 18-mile (29-km) oil slick. The Rubymar was loaded with over 41,000 tons of fertilizer at the time of the attack.
Expressing concern, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the foreign minister in Yemen’s Aden-based government, backed by Saudi Arabia, emphasized the environmental catastrophe and the ongoing impact of Houthi militia actions.
The release of such a substantial amount of fertilizer into the Red Sea poses a severe threat to marine life, warns Ali Al-Sawalmih, director of the Marine Science Station at the University of Jordan. The excess nutrients may lead to eutrophication, harming regular marine life by depleting oxygen.
Experts call for an urgent plan and a collaborative effort among Red Sea countries to monitor and address the polluted areas. The salvage of the vessel before significant leakage occurs could potentially prevent a major ecological disaster, says Xingchen Tony Wang, assistant professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College.
The southern Red Sea ecosystem, known for its pristine coral reefs, coastal mangroves, and diverse marine life, faces a critical threat. Last year, the UN averted a potential environmental disaster by removing over 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker off the Yemen coast.
The Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have not only triggered environmental concerns but also heightened fears of a broader regional destabilization, particularly in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The United States and Britain responded by striking Houthi targets in Yemen since January.
In a separate incident, the UKMTO agency reported an attack on a ship 15 nautical miles west of Yemen’s port of Mokha, with the crew safely evacuated by military authorities.