British ship attacked by Houthis finally sank in the Red Sea

A British-owned ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthis has sank in the Red Sea, becoming the first vessel to be completely destroyed in the rebel campaign against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The sinking of the British ship Rubymar comes as shipping along the crucial waterway for transporting goods and energy from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been hit by Houthi attacks, The Observer writes.

Many ships turned off the route. The sinking of the Rubimar could lead to further diversions and higher insurance rates for ships plying the waterway, potentially increasing global inflation and affecting humanitarian aid supplies to the region.

The US military released an image of the sinking ship and said it now poses a danger to the environment and shipping. “The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the ship was carrying poses an environmental risk in the Red Sea. As the vessel sinks, it also poses a danger to other vessels passing through the waterway’s busy shipping lanes,” it said in a statement on Sunday.

Ian Ralby, founder of maritime safety firm IR Consilium, points out that part of the environmental hazards lie in the circular nature of the water in the Red Sea. Essentially, it functions as a giant lagoon, with water flowing north to Egypt’s Suez Canal in the winter and out into the Gulf of Aden in the summer.

“What goes into the Red Sea stays in the Red Sea,” Ralby said. “There are many ways to hurt him.”

The Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar was drifting north after it was attacked on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government as well as a regional military official confirmed the ship had sunk. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not given permission to speak to reporters about the incident.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which monitors Middle Eastern waterways, separately acknowledged the loss of the Rubimar on Saturday afternoon.

Yemen’s government in exile, which has been supported by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late Friday in stormy weather over the Red Sea. The ship was abandoned within 12 days of the attack, although plans were made to try to tow it to a safe port.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who said the ship sank almost immediately after the attack, have not acknowledged the sinking.

US Central Command previously said the fertilizer cargo, as well as a fuel leak from the ship, could cause environmental damage to the Red Sea.

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the new prime minister of the Yemeni government, called the sinking an “unprecedented environmental disaster.”

“This is a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on Platform X. “Every day we are paying the price for the adventures of the Houthi militia, who did not stop at plunging Yemen into the disaster of a coup and war.”

Since November, Yemeni rebels have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters to protest Israeli attacks in Gaza, The Observer recalls. The ships included at least one carrying cargo bound for Iran, believed to be the Houthis’ main benefactor, and a ship carrying humanitarian aid bound for Houthi-controlled territory.

Despite more than a month of US-led airstrikes, the Houthi rebels are still capable of launching significant attacks. This includes the attack on Rubymar and the downing of a US drone, costing tens of millions of dollars.

The Houthis insist their attacks, which have enraged the Arab world, will continue until Israel ends its military operations in Gaza.

However, the number of attacks has slowed in recent days. The reason for this remains unclear, writes The Observer.