After the attack carried out in mid-February by Houthi rebels against the Rubymar, the list of damage linked to the sinking of this boat continues to grow.
Since February 18, the day Houthi rebels attacked a merchant ship sailing in the Red Sea with a missile, fears related to the consequences of this sinking have only increased. After the risk of an oil spill, then that of an ecological disaster caused by the 21,000 tonnes of fertilizer loaded onto the Rubymar, Washington indicated on Thursday that the ship’s anchor must have cut underwater communications cables.
The attack suffered by the cargo ship “forced the crew to drop anchor and abandon ship. Initial assessments show that the anchor likely, by scraping the seabed, cut the submarine cables that provide communications and internet services to the entire world,” detailed a Pentagon official.
The Rubymar, a merchant ship flying the flag of Belize and operated by a Lebanese company, sank on Saturday and with it more than 21,000 tonnes of fertilizer based on ammonium phosphate and sulfate, which represents a major risk for the ‘environment.
Attacks in support of the Palestinians
Iran-backed Houthi rebels launch attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, besieged and subjected to a major Israeli military offensive following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil.
They announced that they wanted to target Israeli, American and British ships, as well as boats sailing towards Israeli ports, severely disrupting maritime traffic.
