image source, EPA
“Robimar” is the first ship sunk by the Houthis
A British-registered cargo ship sank two weeks after being attacked by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden. The Yemeni government said that the ship, Rubimar, drifted and leaked water for several days before it sank.
This is the first ship that the Houthis have sunk in Yemen since they began targeting ships in the Red Sea. The ship was loaded with fertilizers, and experts say its sinking threatens to cause an “environmental disaster.”
The ship Rubymar was in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, when it was hit by two missiles fired by the Houthis.
Ten days ago, the British government said that water had leaked onto the ship and all 24 crew members were rescued.
The BBC obtained a photo of the ship on February 21, which showed it submerged on one side, but still floating on the surface of the sea.
The company that owned the ship said at the time that it had been towed to neighboring Djibouti but might sink.
The Rubymar ship was carrying a flag measuring 172 meters long and was managed by a company of Lebanese origin, and its registered owner was Golden Adventure Shipping Company, with an address in the British port of Southampton. It is believed that the ship was carrying a shipment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
The head of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, described the shipwreck as an “unprecedented environmental disaster.”
Greenpeace said the ammonium nitrate leak could have “significant impacts on marine ecosystems,” which in the southern Red Sea are characterized by coral reefs, coastal mangroves and diverse marine life.
Head of the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Jordan, Ali Al-Sawalma, said that releasing large amounts of fertilizer into the sea can stimulate excessive algae growth, leading to the consumption of so much oxygen that normal marine life cannot survive.
Al-Sawalma said: “There is a need for an urgent plan to develop a strategy to clean the water.”
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Since November, the Houthis have carried out attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying their actions are in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
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In response, the United States and the United Kingdom carried out a series of attacks on Houthi targets inside Yemen.
The British Maritime Trade Authority said on Saturday that it had received a report of a ship being attacked west of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
The authority added: “The crew worked to anchor the ship and were evacuated by the military authorities.”
Separately, the authority reported a shipwreck, near where the Rubimare was last seen.
US Central Command said it carried out a “self-defense strike” against a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was about to be launched from Yemen. The command said the missile “posed an imminent threat” to US aircraft.
On the same day, the Italian Ministry of Defense said that one of its naval ships shot down a drone that was flying towards it in the Red Sea.
The Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea prompted many shipping companies to stop using the waterway, through which about 12 percent of global seaborne trade passes.
Despite more than a month of airstrikes against Houthi targets by the US-led naval coalition, the Houthis are still launching major attacks.
They say they will continue targeting ships in the Red Sea region until Israel stops its military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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