WASHINGTON: A fertilizer-laden cargo ship, which sank within the Gulf of Aden after it was broken by missiles from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, poses an environmental danger, the US army warned Saturday.
The Houthis claimed the February 18 assault towards the Rubymar, a cargo ship flying a Belizean flag and operated by a Lebanese agency, which transported flamable fertilizers.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed late Saturday that the vessel “sank within the Pink Sea after being struck” by an anti-ship ballistic missile final month.
“The roughly 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental danger within the Pink Sea,” CENTCOM mentioned in a press release.
“Because the ship sinks it additionally presents a subsurface impression danger to different ships transiting the busy delivery lanes of the waterway,” it added.
Yemen’s authorities additionally mentioned earlier Saturday that the ship had sunk.
Container delivery by way of the Pink Sea dropped by round one-third within the first week of 2024 in contrast with the identical interval final 12 months as Houthi assaults triggered delivery corporations to keep away from the Suez Canal, in line with the Worldwide Financial Fund.
The vessel had departed the United Arab Emirates and was sure for the Bulgarian port of Varna.
Its crew deserted the ship and evacuated to security after it was hit by two missiles.
A number of different organizations have additionally expressed concern in regards to the environmental menace posed by the tanker.
Gasoline oil gave the impression to be leaking from the vessel in satellite tv for pc pictures shared by Maxar Applied sciences and printed by AFP.
The TankerTrackers web site mentioned the sinking would “trigger an environmental disaster within the (Yemeni) territorial waters and within the Pink Sea”.
Since November, the Houthis have been finishing up assaults on ships linked to Israel within the Pink Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying they’re appearing in solidarity with Palestinians within the Gaza Strip.
Israel has waged a warfare towards Hamas in Gaza because the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented assault on Israel on October 7.
In response to the Houthi assaults, Israel’s most important ally america established a multinational pressure in December to guard maritime visitors within the strategic waterway.
Since January, Washington and its allies have launched quite a few strikes towards Houthi targets in Yemen, the place the Iran-backed rebels have fought forces loyal to the internationally recognised authorities since 2014.
The Houthis claimed the February 18 assault towards the Rubymar, a cargo ship flying a Belizean flag and operated by a Lebanese agency, which transported flamable fertilizers.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed late Saturday that the vessel “sank within the Pink Sea after being struck” by an anti-ship ballistic missile final month.
“The roughly 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental danger within the Pink Sea,” CENTCOM mentioned in a press release.
“Because the ship sinks it additionally presents a subsurface impression danger to different ships transiting the busy delivery lanes of the waterway,” it added.
Yemen’s authorities additionally mentioned earlier Saturday that the ship had sunk.
Container delivery by way of the Pink Sea dropped by round one-third within the first week of 2024 in contrast with the identical interval final 12 months as Houthi assaults triggered delivery corporations to keep away from the Suez Canal, in line with the Worldwide Financial Fund.
The vessel had departed the United Arab Emirates and was sure for the Bulgarian port of Varna.
Its crew deserted the ship and evacuated to security after it was hit by two missiles.
A number of different organizations have additionally expressed concern in regards to the environmental menace posed by the tanker.
Gasoline oil gave the impression to be leaking from the vessel in satellite tv for pc pictures shared by Maxar Applied sciences and printed by AFP.
The TankerTrackers web site mentioned the sinking would “trigger an environmental disaster within the (Yemeni) territorial waters and within the Pink Sea”.
Since November, the Houthis have been finishing up assaults on ships linked to Israel within the Pink Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying they’re appearing in solidarity with Palestinians within the Gaza Strip.
Israel has waged a warfare towards Hamas in Gaza because the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented assault on Israel on October 7.
In response to the Houthi assaults, Israel’s most important ally america established a multinational pressure in December to guard maritime visitors within the strategic waterway.
Since January, Washington and its allies have launched quite a few strikes towards Houthi targets in Yemen, the place the Iran-backed rebels have fought forces loyal to the internationally recognised authorities since 2014.
