Over the last four months, Houthi forces have attacked dozens of vessels in and around the Red Sea, with the first recorded sinking taking place on 2 March.
The UK-owned merchant vessel Rubymar was hit by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on 18 February and had slowly been taking on water since then. It had been abandoned, but plans were made to try and tow the vessel to a safe port.
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) reported the Rubymar sank in the Red Sea on 2 March in the early hours of the morning, during stormy conditions.
“The approximately 21 000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea. As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway,” CENTCOM said.
“Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, said in a social media post.
“The Iran-backed Houthis pose a heightened threat to global maritime activities. The United States and coalition partners remain committed to safeguarding freedom of navigation, striving to enhance the safety and security of international waters for merchant shipping,” CENTCOM said.
Central Command forces have been carrying out dozens of strikes against Houthi targets over the last few months, primarily anti-ship and ballistic missile launch sites, but Houthi attacks against vessels have continued in solidarity with the Palestinian cause in Gaza.
For example, on 1 March CENTCOM forces struck a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen towards the Red Sea. That same day, the Houthis launched one anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen into the Red Sea. There was no impact or damage to any vessels.
The day before, CENTCOM struck six anti-ship cruise missile launchers and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea.
Repeated Houthi attacks have disrupted global trade between Europe and Asia, forcing many vessels to transit around the Cape of Good Hope. They have also raised fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.
