The ship sank after a Houthi strike – the approximately 21,000 tons of ammonia-based fertilizers it was carrying are at risk
The British ship Rubymar, which sank in the Red Sea after being attacked by Yemeni Houthi rebels, is a risk to the environment and navigation, the US Military Middle East Command (CEMTCOM) warned today.
The Belize-flagged, British-registered and its management company based in Lebanon, the cargo ship Rubymar sank yesterday Saturday along with the fertilizer cargo it was carrying after being hit by two Houthi missiles on February 19. There were no casualties among the crew from the attack.
“The approximately 21,000 tons of ammonia-based fertilizers carried by the ship pose an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“After the sinking the ship also poses underwater collision risks for other ships passing” through this busy seaway, he added.
The ship was abandoned after being hit by missiles while it was, according to the UNMTO maritime safety agency, 35 nautical miles from the Yemeni port of Moka.
“This is a new tragedy for our country and our people. Every day we pay the price for the adventures of the Houthi rebels,” commented Ahmed Anwad bin Bubarak, the foreign minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
“The sinking of the Rubymar is an environmental disaster the likes of which Yemen and the rest of the region have never experienced,” he added.
For his part, Ali al-Shawalmih, director of Marine Sciences at the University of Jordan, pointed out that “an emergency plan should be drawn up by the Red Sea countries to determine the monitoring agenda of the polluted areas in the Red Sea and to adopt a clean-up strategy.” .
The Houthis have been launching attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which the Israeli military has been shelling relentlessly since a Hamas attack on October 7 that killed more than 30,000 people.
In the face of these attacks, the US, a key ally of Israel, created in December a multinational force with the aim of “protecting” navigation in this strategically important sea route.
Since January, the US, sometimes with the assistance of Britain, has launched several strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, who have controlled large areas of the country since 2014.
According to the International Monetary Fund, cargo ship crossings from the Red Sea have fallen by almost 30% year-on-year.
Source :Skai
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