THE Belize-flagged cargo ship Rubymar which was struck by an anti-ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis on February 18 has sunk in the Red Sea taking about 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer down with it, posing a significant environmental risk to one of the world's busiest waterways and the home of many coral reefs.
'The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,' Centcom said, adding that the ship 'also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway'.
The ship's sinking 'will cause an environmental disaster,' the Yemeni government said in a separate statement, reports The Washington Post.
The Houthi attack last month caused an 18-mile oil slick and forced the crew to abandon the ship. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, which coordinated the rescue of the Rubymar's crew members, said the fertilizer onboard was classified as 'very dangerous.'
'Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain's bill,' the Houthis' deputy foreign minister, Hussein El-Ezzi, wrote on X.
However, a spokesperson with Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the Rubymar was not a British ship, but was operated by a Lebanese company, flagged to Belize and owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands.
'We have been clear that any attacks on commercial shipping are completely unacceptable, and that the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately,' said the spokesperson, who also noted a high level of concern about the potential environment effects of the sinking.
Julien Jreissati, the programme director at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, called for emergency response teams to be given 'immediate access' to the site.
'As well as any further leaks of fuel oil from the engines, the sinking of the vessel could further breach the hull, allowing water to contact with the thousands of tons of fertilizer, which could then be released into the Red Sea and disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystems, triggering cascading effects throughout the food web,' Mr Jreissati said.
'This disruption could have far-reaching consequences, affecting various species that depend on these ecosystems and, in turn, potentially impacting the very livelihoods of coastal communities.'
SeaNews Turkey
'The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,' Centcom said, adding that the ship 'also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway'.
The ship's sinking 'will cause an environmental disaster,' the Yemeni government said in a separate statement, reports The Washington Post.
The Houthi attack last month caused an 18-mile oil slick and forced the crew to abandon the ship. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, which coordinated the rescue of the Rubymar's crew members, said the fertilizer onboard was classified as 'very dangerous.'
'Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain's bill,' the Houthis' deputy foreign minister, Hussein El-Ezzi, wrote on X.
However, a spokesperson with Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the Rubymar was not a British ship, but was operated by a Lebanese company, flagged to Belize and owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands.
'We have been clear that any attacks on commercial shipping are completely unacceptable, and that the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately,' said the spokesperson, who also noted a high level of concern about the potential environment effects of the sinking.
Julien Jreissati, the programme director at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, called for emergency response teams to be given 'immediate access' to the site.
'As well as any further leaks of fuel oil from the engines, the sinking of the vessel could further breach the hull, allowing water to contact with the thousands of tons of fertilizer, which could then be released into the Red Sea and disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystems, triggering cascading effects throughout the food web,' Mr Jreissati said.
'This disruption could have far-reaching consequences, affecting various species that depend on these ecosystems and, in turn, potentially impacting the very livelihoods of coastal communities.'
SeaNews Turkey