The US Navy confirms that the British-owned bulk carrier M/V Rubymar has sunk. It was struck by a Houthi missile two weeks ago and the published this picture below is showing the vessel sunk on a sandbank in the Red Sea. It went down with 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed late Saturday that the vessel “sank in the Red Sea after being struck” by an anti-ship ballistic missile last month.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway,” it added.
The Yemen-based terror group, known as the Houthis, were holding an oil tank, the FSO Safer, hostage until this past summer when international organizations finally negotiated a rescue deal.
Greenpeace Middle East North Africa (MENA) which works independently from Greenpeace, or Greenpeace International have not condemned the Houthis and their persistent attacks against cargo ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea since the October 7, terror attack by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Green Prophet reached out to Greenpeace MENA in late December, and several times thereafter, and there has been no response to the attacks on naval traffic heading to the Suez Canal. A statement came out only after the ship had sunk. Greenpeace MENA released a statement yesterday they were “concerned”.
Lebanon-based Julien Jreissati, Programme Director at Greenpeace MENA said: “This disruption could have far-reaching consequences, affecting various species that depend on these ecosystems and, in turn, potentially impacting the very livelihoods of coastal communities. Immediate access to the shipwreck site is imperative for an expert response team to assess the situation and swiftly devise and implement an emergency plan.”
The coral reefs in the Red Sea are the most northerly reef on the planet. Thousands of divers go to Sinai, Egypt every year on dive trips to sites like Abu Galum and the Blue Hole, near Dahab. Saudi Arabia is building its future tourism industry on Red Sea coastal resorts and towns like The Line. The Houthis have been firing at Saudi Arabia indiscriminately for the last several years while a majority of ordinary Yemenites starve.
Post-revolution sites like Dahab have since recovered since the 2011 uprisings in Cairo. The ongoing Hamas-Israel war presents an uncertain future for future Red Sea tourism, certainly at beach camps in Sinai which have little security and where terror operatives can find refuge.
“Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, a head terror operative said said in a post on X. “It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
Greenpeace Israel had no comment.
