©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The cargo ship Rubymar is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Calsikan
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) – The cargo ship Rubymar, which was attacked last month, has sunk in the southern Red Sea, Yemen’s internationally recognized government said in a statement on Saturday.
If verified, it would be the first vessel lost since Houthi militants began targeting commercial vessels in November.
The government statement said the ship sank Friday night and warned of an “environmental catastrophe.”
The ship was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, the US Army Central Command said earlier.
Yemen’s Houthi militants have attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea region since mid-November, claiming they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Monday, a Yemeni government team visited the Rubymar, a UK-owned, Belize-flagged cargo ship, and said it was partially submerged and could sink within a couple of days.
The US military had previously said the attack had significantly damaged the cargo ship and caused a 29 kilometer oil slick.
The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet did not immediately respond to a request to confirm Saturday’s sinking.
MOKHA ATTACK
In two separate reports on Saturday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) said it had received a report of a vessel being attacked 15 nautical miles west of the port of Mokha, Yemen.
“The crew brought the vessel to anchor and was evacuated by military authorities,” the UKMTO said in an advisory note.
Separately, the UKMTO reported the sinking of a vessel.
Neither report named the Rubymar, although both incidents occurred in the vicinity of where the Rubymar was last seen.
The Houthi attacks have prompted shipping companies to divert ships to the longer and more expensive route around southern Africa. They have also fueled fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread, destabilizing the Middle East as a whole.
The United States and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government is based in the southern port of Aden, while the Houthis control much of the north and other major centers.