Oil slick in the Red Sea from a British-owned ship attack by Yemen’s Houthis, US military says
The U.S. military says an attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels on a Belize-flagged ship earlier this month caused a significant oil leakage
CAIRO (AP) — An attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels on a Belize-flagged ship earlier this month caused a significant oil leak, the U.S. military said early Saturday.
The Rubymar, a British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo vessel, was attacked on Feb. 18 while sailing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, U.S. Central Command said.
The missile attack forced the crew to abandon the vessel, which had been on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khorfakkan in the United Arab Emirates. It was transporting more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer, CENTCOM said in a statement.
The vessel suffered significant damage, which caused an 18-mile (29-kilometer) oil slick, said the CENTCOM statement, warning that the ship's cargo “could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster.”
