A cargo ship sank in the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi militants, taking about 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer down with it. This is posing a significant environmental risk to one of the world’s busiest waterways and the home of many coral reefs.

The Rubymar cargo vessel was struck by an anti-ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis on February 18th and sank early Saturday after “slowly taking on water” since the attack. The United States Central Command posted about the attack on social media early Sunday local time.

Sinking of Motor Vessel⁰Rubymar Risks Environmental⁰Damage

On Mar. 2 at approximately 2:15 a.m., MV Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, UK-owned bulk carrier, sank in the Red Sea after being struck by an Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist anti-ship ballistic missile on Feb. 18.

The ship… pic.twitter.com/fRUM4ll4cY

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 3, 2024

“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” Centcom said, adding that the ship “also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway.”

The ship’s sinking “will cause an environmental disaster,” the Yemeni government said in a separate statement.

The Houthi attack last month caused an 18-mile oil slick and forced the crew to abandon the ship. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, which coordinated the rescue of the Rubymar’s crew members, said the fertilizer onboard was classified as “very dangerous.” –The Washington Post

This is the first time a ship has been completely lost due to Houthi attacks. The Houthis have been using drone attacks and missiles to antagonize cargo ships believed to be linked to Israel or its allies in the Red Sea for months.

“Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” the Houthis’ deputy foreign minister, Hussein El-Ezzi, wrote Sunday on X.

اليمن ستواصل إغراق المزيد من السفن البريطانية وأي تداعيات أوأضرار أخرى سيتم إضافتها لفاتورةبريطانيا باعتبارها دولةمارقة تعتدي عل اليمن وتشارك امريكا في رعايةالجريمةالمستمرة بحق المدنيين في غزة
(لايمكنك العبث في بلادي ثم الذهاب لقضاءسهرتك في الفابريك
من يؤذي اليمن سنؤذيه
too much)

— حسين العزي (@hussinalezzi5) March 3, 2024

A spokesperson with Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office said the Rubymar was not a British ship. Instead, it was operated by a Lebanese company, flagged to Belize, and owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands. “We have been clear that any attacks on commercial shipping are completely unacceptable, and that the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately,” said the spokesperson, who also noted a high level of concern about the potential environmental effects of the sinking