New environmental threat due to Houthi attack and the government calls for urgent international assistance
Yemen Monitor/Aden:
Urgent assistance was requested on Saturday by the Yemeni internationally recognized government to control an oil spill and potential chemical leak in the Red Sea due to the Houthi attack on a commercial cargo ship in the Red Sea.
A report by the US CENTCOM stated that Iran-backed Houthis targeted the vessel with a missile strike causing damage.
CENTCOM also reported that the vessel was transporting over 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it suffered an “unprovoked and reckless attack” that caused “significant damage” and an “18-mile oil slick. “The US military also warned of the danger of a spill from the vessel’s cargo of fertilizer.
On its side, the internationally recognized Yemeni government announced the formation of a crisis cell to develop an emergency plan to deal with the leak from “Rubimar”.
In a statement, the government called on all countries, organizations and bodies concerned with the preservation of the marine environment to quickly deal with the crisis of the “Rubimar” ship.
The Rubymar, a British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo vessel, was attacked on Feb. 18 while sailing through Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis attack on Belize-flagged ship in the gulf of Aden results in 29 km (18 mile) oil slick, sparking environmental crisis in the Red Sea.
Early on Friday ,the US forces ‘shot down three Houthi one-way attack (drones) near several commercial ships operating in the Red Sea and there was no damage to any of the ships,’ the Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthis have been targeting shipping for months and their attacks have persisted despite repeated American and British strikes aimed at degrading the rebels’ ability to threaten a vital global trade route.
