First Ship Sinks in Red Sea As a Result of Houthi Strikes, Fuel, Fertilizer Create Ecological Nightmare
The first ship to sink as a result of Houthi rebel strikes is the Belize-flagged Rubymar, which descended into the depths of the Red Sea, officials announced Saturday.
The Houthi attacks have had international implications as major companies have started avoiding the crucial shipping lanes and opting for safer - but longer and more expensive - routes.
Via the Associated Press:
The sinking of the Rubymar comes as shipping through the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been affected by the Houthi attacks.
Already, many ships have turned away from the route. The sinking could see further detours and higher insurance rates put on vessels plying the waterway — potentially driving up global inflation and affecting aid shipments to the region.
The Rubymar will now rest beneath the waves:
The Houthis have been ramping up their rhetoric and their attacks since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.
The Houthis are an Iranian-backed militant group that is incensed over Israel’s retribution against Hamas in Gaza. They’d also love to rule Yemen:
The Houthis aim to govern all of Yemen and support external movements against the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Because of the Houthis' ideological background, the conflict in Yemen is widely seen as a front of the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war.
The damaged ship had been foundering for almost two weeks:
Yemen’s exiled government, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late Friday as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea. The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.
The vessel was hauling fertilizer, which in addition to leaking fuel, could cause serious ecological damage to the sea.
Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, the prime minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, called the ship’s sinking “an unprecedented environmental disaster.”
“It’s a new disaster for our country and our people,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Every day, we pay for the Houthi militia’s adventures, which were not stopped at plunging Yemen into the coup disaster and war.”
RedState will keep you up to date on the ongoing Middle East conflicts as events warrant.
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