The US military has warned of an “environmental disaster” after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a cargo ship caused an oil slick in the Red Sea.
The Iran-aligned group hit the UK-owned, Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubymar on February 18 with multiple missiles. It was sailing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khor Fakkan in the UAE.
Extensive damage prompted the crew, all of whom are safe, to abandon the ship.
The vessel was transporting more than 41,000 tonnes of fertiliser when attacked, the military said, “which could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster”.
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