The British ship that sank in the Red Sea after a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels poses a threat to the environment and maritime traffic, the US military's Middle East Command (CENTCOM) warned on Sunday.
The Belize-flagged, UK-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo ship Rubymar sank on Saturday with its cargo of fertilizer after being hit by two Houthi missiles on February 19. The attack caused no casualties among the crew.
“That’s around 21,000 tons of fertilizer [de dérivés] “The amount of ammonium the ship was carrying poses a threat to the Red Sea environment,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“The sinking of the ship also poses an underground collision risk for other ships navigating the busy shipping lanes of this shipping route,” it added.
The ship was abandoned after being hit by the missiles while it was 35 nautical miles (65 kilometers) from the Yemeni port of Mokha (southwest), according to maritime security agency UKMTO.
The Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging a war against Hamas in retaliation for the Islamist movement's unprecedented attack. October 7th.
In light of these attacks, the United States, Israel's main ally, set up a multinational force in December to “protect” maritime traffic in these strategic waters.
Since January, partly with help from the United Kingdom, they have launched numerous attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen, a country that has been at war since 2014 pitting the government against Iranian-backed rebels.
According to the IMF, sea container transport through the Red Sea has fallen by almost 30% compared to last year. According to the European Union, between 12 and 15% of global traffic passed through this axis before the conflict.