DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after several days in the water, officials said Saturday, marking a move by Israel to counter Hamas. It was announced that it was the first ship to be completely destroyed as part of a war effort. In the Gaza Strip.
The sinking of the Rubimaa comes as Houthi attacks have affected shipping through the waterway, which is crucial for transporting cargo and energy from Asia and the Middle East to Europe.
Many ships have already left the route. The sinking could cause further detours and raise insurance premiums for ships navigating the waterway, raising global inflation and potentially impacting aid shipments to the region.
The Belize-flagged Rubimar has drifted northward after being attacked by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on February 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Ta.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government and regional military officials confirmed the ship had sunk. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists about the incident.
The British military’s British Maritime Trade Operations Center, which monitors waterways in the Middle East, separately confirmed the sinking of the Rubimar on Saturday afternoon.
Rubimar’s Beirut-based manager could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yemen’s government-in-exile, which has been supported by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubimaa sank late Friday due to rough weather in the Red Sea. The ship was abandoned for 12 days after the attack, but plans were being made to tow the ship to a safe port.
The Iranian-backed Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the ship had sunk, although they falsely claimed it had sunk almost immediately after the attack.
Crew abandons ship ‘sunk’ by Houthi missile attackhttps://t.co/Pp6IWX7GgB
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 19, 2024
The US military’s Central Command had previously warned that the ship’s fertilizer cargo and fuel leaks from the vessel could cause ecological damage in the Red Sea.
Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Prime Minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, called the ship’s sinking an “unprecedented environmental disaster.”
“This is another disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Every day we pay the price for the adventures of the Houthi militias, who did more than just plunge Yemen into coup disaster and war.”
The Houthis have occupied Yemen’s capital Sanaa since 2014 and ousted the government. It has been fighting a Saudi-led coalition in a war that has reached a stalemate since 2015.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press from Planet Labs PBC on Wednesday showed a small boat alongside the Rubimar. It was not immediately clear whose ship it was. The images showed the Rubimar’s stern submerged in the Red Sea but still floating, echoing previous videos of the ship.
Private security company Ambry separately reported on Friday about a mysterious incident involving Rubimar.
“A large number of Yemenis were reportedly affected in the security incident that occurred,” Ambry said on Friday. It did not elaborate on the nature of the incident, and officials in Yemen’s long-running war have not claimed a new attack on the ship.
Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies on Friday showed damage to the Rubimar from a new explosion that had not been seen before, and there were no other ships nearby.
Since November, rebel groups have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israeli-Hamas war. These vessels included at least one ship with cargo destined for Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled areas.
Despite more than a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels could still launch major attacks. These include the attack on Rubimar and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis have insisted they will continue their attacks until Israel ceases combat operations in the Gaza Strip, a move that has outraged the Arab world and helped the group gain international recognition.
However, attacks have slowed in recent days. The reason remains unclear.
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— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 29, 2024
