Oil and fertilizer have poured into the Red Sea from a sinking cargo ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, putting the local environment and a critical waterway for cargo shipments to Europe at risk.
U.S. officials confirmed early Sunday that U.K.-owned MV Rubymar carrying 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer had sunk two weeks after it was attacked on February 18. It’s the first vessel to sink from a Houthi attack after the group started targeting commercial shipping in the waterway last November.
The 172-meter-long Rubymar started leaking fuel shortly after the attack, leaving a 30-kilometer oil slick across the waterway. Although the 24 crew members on the ship were safely evacuated, the U.S. Central Command said on X early Sunday that the leak poses an “environmental risk” in the area and could put other vessels moving through the Red Sea’s busy shipping lanes in danger.
