A British cargo ship sank in the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi fighters, taking with it about 21,000 tons of fertilizer. This posed a significant environmental risk to one of the world's busiest waterways and home to many coral reefs.
The Rubymar was hit by an anti-ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis on Feb. 18 and sank early Saturday after “slowly taking on water” since the attack, U.S. Central Command said said on social media early Sunday local time.
“The approximately 21,000 tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer the ship was carrying poses an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” Centcom said, adding that the ship “also poses a subsurface risk to other ships navigating the busy shipping lanes of the Red Sea.” Navigating the Red Sea.” Waterway.”
The ship's sinking “will cause an environmental disaster,” the Yemeni government said in a separate statement.
Last month's Houthi attack caused an 18-mile-long oil slick and forced the crew to abandon ship. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, which coordinated the rescue of the Rubymar crew members, said The fertilizer on board was classified as “very dangerous”.
It is believed to be the first time a ship has been completely destroyed by a Houthi attack. For months, the Houthis have used missiles and drones to attack commercial and naval ships transiting the Red Sea in protest against Israel's war in Gaza.
Julien Jreissati, Greenpeace's program director for the Middle East and North Africa, called for emergency teams to be given “immediate access” to the site of the ship's sinking.
“In addition to further leaks of fuel oil from the engines, the ship's sinking could breach the hull even further, allowing water to come into contact with the thousands of tons of fertilizer that could then enter the Red Sea and disrupt the balance of marine ecosystems, causing cascading effects throughout food web triggers,” said Jreissati.
“This disruption could have far-reaching consequences, impacting various species that depend on these ecosystems and potentially also impacting the livelihoods of coastal communities.”
The Associated Press quoted Ian Ralby, founder of maritime security firm IR Consilium, as saying there were “many opportunities” for damage to the Red Sea from the ship's sinking, noting that the impact would be slow If the ship remains intact underwater there will be a trickle instead of a massive release.
Noting that the sea has a circular water pattern, Ralby added: “What spills in the Red Sea stays in the Red Sea.”
The Rubymar was en route from the United Arab Emirates to Belarus when it was targeted, the Washington Post reported at the time. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed this in an update Saturday that “the ship has pulled the anchor… and lies at the stern.”
The Houthis have said ships linked to Israel or bound for its ports are legitimate targets, and the United States and Britain have launched multiple strikes against the group in an attempt to end the attacks – which appear not to have stopped. On Saturday, senior Houthi official Mohammed Ali al-Houthi slammed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked Britain's support for Israel and said Sunak was “responsible” for the ship's fate. He also called for more humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip.
Many large ships – which carry about 12 percent of all global trade – have changed their route to avoid the Red Sea amid the Houthi threat, choosing instead to take the long route around southern Africa.
Such detours could add up to a month to transit times, delay the delivery of goods and further disrupt international trade – a sector already struggling with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, rising inflation and disruption from Russia's war in Ukraine .
“With fewer and fewer container ships to target, the likelihood of another oil spill with massive environmental impact has increased enormously,” Ralby told the AP.
Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking ships in the Red Sea?
Victoria Bisset, Helier Cheung, Mohamad El Chamaa and Bryan Pietsch contributed to this report.