Houthis namecheck George Galloway in message to Sunak as cargo ship sinks

A senior Houthi leader has namechecked newly-elected George Galloway in a message blaming Rishi Sunak for the first sinking of a rebel-attacked vessel in the Red Sea.

Rubymar cargo ship underwater. Pic: US Central Command

The Belize-registered Rubymar was struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile on 18 February and sunk at around 2.15am on Saturday.

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Houthi rebels, who control parts of Yemen, have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a show of solidarity for the people of Gaza.

According to US Central Command: “The ship had been slowly taking on water since the unprovoked attack.

“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertiliser that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea.

Ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sinks in the Red Sea. Pic: ALJOUMHOURIYA TV

“As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway.”

Senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al Houthi wrote on X that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the UK government are responsible for the sinking – and the environmental disaster that will likely ensue.

“We say to Sunak you and your government bear responsibility Ship M/V Rubymar and the responsibility to support genocide and siege in Gaza.”

Having falsely claimed the vessel was UK-owned, the militant leader also said Mr Sunak has a “chance to salvage” it, by “sending a letter of guarantee… signed by George Galloway, that the relief trucks agreed upon at that time would enter Gaza”.

Mr Galloway was elected MP for Rochdale in a by-election on Thursday, and proclaimed in his victory speech “this is for Gaza” and that he “despises” the prime minister.

Pic: ALJOUMHOURIYA TV

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Al-Sawalmih, director of the Marine Science Station at the University of Jordan, warned that the overload of nutrients from the spilled fertiliser could result in excessive growth of algae, starving the remaining marine wildlife of oxygen.

“An urgent plan should be adopted by countries of the Red Sea to establish monitoring agenda of the polluted areas in the Red Sea as well as adopt a clean-up strategy,” he said.

The overall impact depends on how ocean currents deplete the fertiliser and how it is released from the stricken vessel, Xingchen Tony Wang, assistant professor at the department of earth and environmental sciences at Boston College, added.

Fertiliser spills from Rubymar before it sunk. Pic: Maxar Technologies

Yemeni foreign minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, echoed concerns on X, writing: “The sinking of the Rubymar is an environmental catastrophe that Yemen and the region have never experienced before. It is a new tragedy for our country and our people.

“Every day we pay the price for the adventures of the Houthi militia.”