Aden (Al-Ittihad)
Yesterday, the Yemeni government announced the formation of a crisis cell to develop an emergency plan to confront a potential major environmental disaster, resulting from the repercussions of the Houthis targeting the ship “Rubimar” in its territorial waters in the southern Red Sea.
In a statement, the government called on “all countries, organizations and bodies concerned with preserving the marine environment to quickly deal with the crisis of the ship (Rubimar), which carries large quantities of ammonia and oils, and to prevent the leakage of these dangerous materials into marine waters.”
The Rubimare cargo ship, flying the Belizean flag, registered in Britain and managed by a Lebanese company, and carrying combustible fertilizers, was damaged in a missile attack last Sunday, for which the Houthis claimed responsibility.
The Yemeni government also condemned the Houthi group's targeting of the ship, which caused great damage and the evacuation of the ship's crew. Initial information indicates that the ship is heading towards the Yemeni Hanish Islands in the Red Sea, which threatens a major environmental disaster.
In turn, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Yemeni Prime Minister, yesterday directed the formation of an emergency committee from the concerned authorities to deal with the ship crisis, which constitutes a serious attack on marine life.
Yesterday, the US Army announced that the Houthi attack on a British-owned cargo ship in the Red Sea resulted in an oil slick, warning of an environmental catastrophe. US Central Command confirmed that the ship was anchored, but water was slowly seeping into it, leaving an oil stain 18 miles long.
She said in a post on the “X” website that the ship “was transporting more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, potentially leaking into the Red Sea and exacerbating this environmental disaster.”
Earlier, Blue Fleet Group, the company operating the ship, said that its crew was evacuated to Djibouti after a missile hit the side of the ship, causing water to leak into the engine room and its stern to bend.
Blue Fleet CEO Roy Khoury explained that a second missile hit the ship's deck without causing serious damage.
In this context, US forces shot down 3 attack drones near commercial shipping ships in the Red Sea the day before yesterday, and destroyed 7 anti-ship cruise missiles stationed on the ground, the day after they struck 4 drones that were prepared to be launched in Yemen, according to what the US military announced yesterday.
The US Central Military Command (Centcom) announced in a statement on a social media network that US forces were able to “shoot down three Houthi attack drones near a number of commercial shipping ships operating in the Red Sea, and the ships did not sustain any damage.”
In a statement issued later, US Central Command said that US forces destroyed “seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles belonging to the Houthis that were prepared to be launched towards the Red Sea,” adding that these strikes were in self-defense.
It stated that “Centcom detected these missiles in areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen and determined that they represent an imminent threat to commercial ships and US Navy ships in the region.”
#Yemen #forms #crisis #cell #confront #repercussions #ship #Rubimar