Ship sunk by Houthis threatens Red Sea environment

A UK-owned ship attacked by Houthi militants last month sank in the Red Sea.

The ship attacked by Houthi militants last month sank in the Red Sea, the US military confirmed on March 2, as it echoed a warning from Yemen's internationally recognised government that the vessel's cargo of hazardous fertiliser posed a risk to marine life, according to Reuters.

The Belize-registered Rubymar is the first vessel lost since the Houthis began targeting commercial ships in November.

Those drone and missile assaults have forced shipping firms to divert ships to the longer route around southern Africa, disrupting global trade by delaying deliveries and sending costs higher.

The sinking bulk carrier also "presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in its statement on social media platform X.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the north of Yemen and other large centres, say their campaign is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Houthi attacks have prompted a series of strikes against their positions by the United States and Britain, and have led other navies to send vessels to the region to try to protect the vital Suez Canal trade route.

The Rubymar went down in the southern Red Sea late on March 1 or early on March 2, according to statements from the Yemen government and CENTCOM.

The US military previously said the February 18 missile attack had significantly damaged the bulk vessel and caused an 18-mile (29-km) oil slick. The ship was carrying about 21,000 metric tons of fertiliser, CENTCOM said on March 2.

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the foreign minister in Yemen's internationally recognised government in Aden, said in a post on X: "The sinking of the Rubymar is an environmental catastrophe that Yemen and the region have never experienced before.

"It is a new tragedy for our country and our people. Every day we pay the price for the adventures of the Houthi militia ..."

The internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, has been at war with the Houthis since 2014.