Ship ‘Rubymar’ Sunk by Houthis Poses A Major Threat to the Red Sea Ecosystem

A Belize-registered UK-owned vessel that was attacked by Houthis in the past month recently sank into the Red Sea, the US military confirmed on Saturday, as it raised alarm from the Yemeni government that the vessel’s cargo containing hazardous fertilizers posed a big risk to marine life.

Video Credits: Reuters

The Rubymar happens to be the first vessel to be lost since the Houthis targeted commercial vessels in November. The drones as well as missile assaults have compelled shipping majors to divert their vessels to the longer route via southern Africa, disrupting worldwide trade by postponing deliveries and sending the costs rocketing.

The sinking bulk carrier presents a subsurface effect risk to other vessels that transit the waterway’s busy and critical shipping lanes, the U.S. Central Command (abbreviated the CENTCOM) declared in its statement on X. The Iran-led Houthis, who exercise control over the north of Yemen and other huge centres, say that their campaign is to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

The Houthi attacks have also forced a set of brutal strikes against their positions by the US and Britain and have directed the other navies to dispatch their vessels to the area to try to safeguard the crucial Suez Canal trade passage.

The Rubymar sank either late Friday or early Saturday, per information received from the Yemeni government and CENTCOM. The US military has earlier mentioned that the February 18 missile attack had enormously impaired the bulk vessel and resulted in an 18-mile oil slick.

CENTCOM mentioned on Saturday that the vessel was loaded with almost 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer. On X, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the foreign minister associated with the Yemeni internationally recognized government based in Aden, said that the sinking of Rubymar is now to be considered an ecological catastrophe that Yemen and the area have never witnessed before.

It‘s a new tragedy for the country and its people. Each day, the price for the mishaps of the Houthi militia is being paid. The internationally recognized governing body, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, has been waging war with Houthis since 2014. The release of huge amounts of fertilizer into the Red Sea puts marine life at a huge risk, cited Ali Al-Sawalmih, the Marine Science Station director associated with the University of Jordan. The nutrient overload can stimulate excess growth of algae, using up such a quantity of oxygen that the regular marine life can’t survive, explained Al-Sawalmih, illustrating a process dubbed eutrophication.

A strategic yet immediate plan is the need of the hour. He added that all the nations near the Red Se should implement their monitoring agenda of the contaminated zones and deploy a unique cleanup strategy.

The overall consequence relies on how the ocean currents drain the fertilizers and how it gets discharged from stricken vessels, said Xingchen Tony Wang, an assistant professor associated with the Boston College Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College.

The southern Red Sea is known for its pristine coral reefs, luxurious coastal mangroves, and diverse marine ecosystems. In 2023, the zone avoided a possible ecological disaster as the UN removed a million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker, which had long been moored off the Yemen coast.

That kind of operation could be harder in the current circumstances. The Houthi attacks have reportedly stoked the fears that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war can spread, destabilizing the broader Middle East. In a separate report, the UKMTO agency mentioned that it had gotten a report of a vessel being attacked 15 nm to the west of the Yemeni port of Mokha.

The UKMTO mentioned in an advisory letter that the crew members had taken the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities. Italy’s defence ministry also mentioned that one of its naval vessels had successfully shot down a drone approaching it in the waters of the Red Sea.

In the meantime, the Houthi Transport Ministry mentioned a “glitch” in the undersea communication cables of the Red Sea caused by actions taken by US and British naval vessels. It didn’t provide any further details.

References: NY Times, Reuters

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