Houthi Attacks Lead To Abandoning Of UK Ship

Houthi targeting of commercial ships in the Red Sea has continued this week, with the latest being a missile attack on a British registered, Belize flagged, cargo vessel, resulting in the crew abandoning ship.

The bulk cargo carrier ‘Rubymar’ is understood to be at risk of sinking after it was struck by a missile, with the Houthis claiming this morning that the vessel has been already been sunk. However, these latest Houthi claims are unconfirmed.

UK government have reported that the vessel was taking on water, while military reports confirm the crew of 24 have abandoned the ship, which is at anchor, and all are safe and well.

The attack, which occured on Sunday night, has effectively become the most prominent incident in the Red Sea since hostilities began, as no crew has had to completely evacuate their ship previously.

According to the Greek shipping ministry, another incident in the Red Sea saw a Greek flagged, US-owned, bulk carrier attacked twice by missiles on Monday, with no injuries to crew. While a Houthi spokesman has claimed that two US-owned cargo vessels have also been attacked in the Gulf of Aden – the ‘Sea Champion’ and the ‘Navis Fortuna’.

With attacks ongoing, there is unlikely to be any change to the current steamship line policy of routing vessels around Africa any time soon.