A ship that has become the highest-profile casualty of the Houthi menace on shipping has been the centre of another incident that has resulted in multiple injuries.
Maritime security firm Ambrey Analytics said on Friday that it has received multiple reports of a “further incident” at the site of the 32,200-dwt Rubymar (built 1997), which was abandoned in the Red Sea after taking severe damage from a Houthi missile attack on 19 February.
“A number of Yemenis were reportedly harmed during a security incident,” Ambrey said.
Details of the incident, which took place on Thursday, remain unclear.
It took place 10 days after the ship was attacked while in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Crew members abandoned the vessel, which was left partially submerged at its stern.
The Rubymar, identified by some databases as a general cargo ship and by others as a bulker, is now 16 nautical miles (30 km) west of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mokha.
“Merchant vessels are advised to remain at least five miles from the vessel due to the navigational hazard and ongoing security concerns,” Ambrey said.
At the time of the Rubymar’s initial attack, the ship was carrying 22,000 tonnes of fertiliser bound for Morocco.
The Belizean-flagged ship is managed by GMZ Ship Management of Lebanon, which could not be immediately reached for comment for this story.
Also on Thursday, US Central Command said it had conducted two self-defence strikes against anti-ship cruise missiles that were preparing to launch toward the Red Sea.
The command, which coordinates US armed forces in the Middle East, said it also shot down a drone in the Red Sea.
“CENTCOM forces determined that the missiles and UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the US Navy ships in the region,” Central Command said.
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