Photo Credit: AP
Yemen's Houthi rebels have vowed to continue targeting British ships in the Red Sea after sinking the UK-owned Rubymar, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.
The Iran-backed militia labelled Britain a 'rogue state' and blamed Rishi Sunak for their forces' wrecking of the ship, saying his government should allow aid into Gaza if it wants to salvage the Rubymar.
'Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain's bill,' Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, said in a post on X.
'It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.'
There are now fears that the sinking of the ship could cause an 'environmental catastrophe', with its cargo of 21,000 tonnes of fertiliser threatening to leak and posing a major threat to marine life.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping since mid-November, claiming they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Their Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.
The US and Britain began striking Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Yesterday, the US military confirmed that the Belize-flagged Rubymar had sunk after being struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi militants on February 18.
The attack occurred in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, 35 nautical miles south of Al Mukha, and the boat began 'slowly taking on water'.
The crew of the cargo ship, which comes in at 171.6m long and 27m wide, was forced to 'abandon the vessel' following the attack.
