WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A fertilizer-laden cargo ship, which sank in the Gulf of Aden after it was damaged by missiles from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, poses an environmental risk, the US military warned Saturday.
THE Belize-flagged cargo ship Rubymar, damaged in a missile strike claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, floats in the Red Sea. The British-registered and Lebanese-operated vessel carrying combustible fertilizer has sunk on 2 March, according to the Yemeni government.
Ship
sunk by Houthis threatens environmental catastrophe
The
Rubymar was carrying 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate
fertilizer
The Rubymar had departed the United Arab Emirates and was bound for the Bulgarian port of Varna.
The Houthis claimed the 18 February attack against the Rubymar, a cargo ship flying a Belizean flag and operated by a Lebanese firm, which transported combustible fertilizers.
The US Central Command or CENTCOM confirmed late Saturday that the vessel “sank in the Red Sea after being struck” by an anti-ship ballistic missile last month.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway,” it added. Yemen’s government also said earlier Saturday that the ship had sunk.
Container shipping through the Red Sea dropped by around one-third in the first week of 2024 compared with the same period last year as Houthi attacks caused shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The
Rubymar had departed the United Arab Emirates and was bound for the Bulgarian
port of Varna.
Its crew abandoned the ship and evacuated to safety after it was hit by two missiles.
The TankerTrackers website said the sinking would “cause an environmental catastrophe in the (Yemeni) territorial waters and in the Red Sea.”
Since November, the Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel’s main ally the United States established a multinational force in December to protect maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.
Since January, Washington and its allies have launched numerous strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, where the Iran-backed rebels have fought forces loyal to the internationally recognized government since 2014.
https://tribune.net.ph/2024/03/04/ship-sunk-by-houthis-threatens-environmental-catastrophe
Comments
The sinking of the Rubymar tanker should provoke the removal of Al Quada and the Houthis from Yemen. The Arab countries bordering the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea route to the Suez Canal should form a coalition and join Saudi Arabia in solving the Yemen problem. Europe should join in because this disrupts their supply chain.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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