A Belize-flagged, UK-registered and Lebanese-operated cargo ship was abandoned by its crew early on Monday after being targeted by multiple Houthi missiles, UK authorities report.
The ship is at anchor at the Bab el-Mandeb strait and its crew are safe. “Military authorities” are on the scene providing assistance, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree identified the targeted ship as the 32,200-dwt Rubymar (built 1997).
“As a result of the extensive damage the ship suffered, it is now at risk of potential sinking,” Saree said.
“During the operation, we made sure that the ship’s crew exited safely,” Saree added.
UKMTO and Ambrey Intelligence had earlier reported that three missiles were observed flying in nearby waters late on Sunday, at about 20:00 GMT, 35 nautical miles (65 kilometres) south of the Yemeni port town of Mokha.
“The master reports an explosion in close proximity to the vessel resulting in damage,” UKMTO said.
The Houthi rebel group, which controls large swathes of Yemen, has attacked more than 50 vessels since November, as part of a policy to pressure Israel to stop the war it wages in Gaza.
Its declared targets are ships linked or trading with Israel or belonging to companies in the US and the UK, whose forces have been bombing the Houthis in retaliation.
The Houthis often use the residence of ships’ registered owners to define their nationality. In the case of the Rubymar, for instance, the registered owner is UK-based Golden Adventure Shipping.
However, the Rubymar’s management, and most likely its effective ownership, is Lebanese as the ship is listed in the fleet of Beirut-based GMZ Ship Management.
Contacted by TradeWinds, managers at GMZ declined to comment about the incident or about the ship’s situation before the crew were taken to safety.
According to Ambrey, vessel tracker data suggests the Rubymar’s seafarers were evacuated to a Singapore-flagged container ship.
The Houthis’ campaign has been highly effective in disrupting ship traffic through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. According to Portwatch, a website run by the IMF and University of Oxford, the seven-day moving average of ship transits through the water dropped to 41 on 13 February, down from 75 two months before.
The latest attack against the cargo ship is the third in four days and comes after rockets landed close to Helikon Shipping Enterprises’, 58,800-dwt Lycavitos (built 2007) in the Gulf of Aden and to Sea Trade Marine’s 100,000-dwt LR2 product tanker Pollux (built 2003) in the Red Sea.
