Updated 04.23 | Published 04.16
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fullscreen This satellite image, provided by Planet Labs, shows the cargo ship Rubymar leaking oil into the Red Sea. Photo: Planet Labs Pbc/AP/TT
A cargo ship abandoned in the Gulf of Aden after being damaged in an attack is leaking oil and could become a major environmental disaster, warns the US military’s Central Middle East Command, Centcom.
The Belize-flagged vessel Rubymar, loaded with fertilizer, was damaged almost a week ago. It happened in an attack that the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen claims to have carried out.
The ship’s crew was evacuated to Djibouti and it is now at anchor. But it slowly takes in water and has left behind an almost three-mile-long oil spill, Centcom says.
But it is not only the leaked oil that threatens the marine environment. Even the fertilizer load can be dangerous.
“M/V Rubymar was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, which could leak into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster,” writes Centcom on X, formerly Twitter.
The shipping company said on Thursday that the vessel could be towed to Djibouti this week. Rubymar is the ship that has suffered the most damage so far of the many ships that have been subjected to Huthi attacks since November. The attacks are taking place to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Huthi movement.