03/03/2024 9:01
The ship full of fertilizer that sank in the Gulf of Aden after a rocket attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels poses a threat to the environment, the US military said on Saturday.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the Feb. 19 attack on the Rubymar, a Belizeflagged merchant ship owned by a Lebanese company that was carrying flammable fertilizer.
The Yemeni government said on Saturday that the ship had sunk.
“The approximately 21,000 tons of ammonium phosphate and sulfate fertilizers the ship is carrying pose an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” the US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday.
It also confirmed that the ship “sank in the Red Sea after being hit by an antiship ballistic missile” last month.
“By sinking, the ship also poses a danger to other vessels using the waterway’s busy shipping lanes,” he added.
According to the International Monetary Fund, container shipping across the Red Sea has fallen by almost a third this year due to continued attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The “Rubymar” had left the United Arab Emirates and was on its way to the Bulgarian port of Varna. The crew left the ship and was able to be brought to safety after two rockets hit.
The Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, justifying this out of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging war against Hamas in retaliation for the Palestinian movement's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 .
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