A ship targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has reportedly sunk in the Red Sea after days of battling flooding, marking the first vessel to be fully destroyed in the context of heightened tensions over Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Rubymar, which had been adrift since the attack on February 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, was confirmed to have sunk by officials on Saturday. Yemen’s internationally recognized government, along with a regional military source, verified the ship’s sinking. The source spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the information.
Efforts to reach the Beirut-based manager of the Rubymar for comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
Yemen’s exiled government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, stated that the vessel went down late Friday amid severe weather conditions in the Red Sea. The ship had been deserted for 12 days following the attack, with tentative plans to tow it to a secure harbor. However, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who initially claimed the vessel sank immediately after the attack, have not yet acknowledged the ship’s sinking.
The incident adds to the escalating tensions in the region, fueled by ongoing conflicts such as the Israeli-Hamas confrontation and the broader geopolitical struggle involving Yemen’s Houthi rebels. As maritime security remains a critical concern in the strategically significant Red Sea, the sinking of the Rubymar underscores the volatility of the situation and the challenges faced by vessels navigating these waters amidst regional unrest.
Sources By Agencies
