The Rubymar, a UK-owned, Belize-flagged cargo ship hit by Houthi missiles in the Red Sea on Feb. 18 (GM Feb. 23, p. 31), has remained in limbo. While the crew were rescued by another ship and taken to Djibouti, the damaged ship is still looking for a safe harbor. While the ship did not sink, its engine room and fifth hold were underwater.
According to a Feb. 28 CNBC report, citing the vessel’s ship broker Blue Fleet Group, the vessel was awaiting help from the US Navy to tow the ship to the Saudi port of Jeddah, as other ports in the area have not agreed to accept it. The Yemeni government, citing fears that the vessel would sink, said pollution from the ship would negatively impact its local fishing industry.
While initially reported as a relatively small vessel carrying phosphates from Saudi Arabia to Varna, Bulgaria, the US Central Command on Feb. 24 said the ship was “transporting 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, which could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster,” according to a Bloomberg report.
“The unprovoked and reckless attack by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists caused significant damage to the ship, which caused an 18-mile oil slick,” the Command reported.
In the meantime, the BBC reported that the Yemen government-run Saba news agency said in a report that the vessel carried large amounts of ammonia, oils, and dangerous materials that constitute a dangerous threat to marine life.