New Delhi, India

New satellite images have emerged that show the UK-registered Rubymar cargo vessel abandoned in the Red Sea after it was targetted in an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebel group.

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The ship was hit by missiles fired by the Houthis on Feb 18 and the satellite images were captured by Planet Labs PBC on Tuesday (Feb 20). The crew onboard the ship was immediately evacuated.

The US military said that the Rubymar was loaded with over 41,000 tons of fertiliser at the time it was attacked, which if fell into the Red Sea, could lead to an environmental disaster.

“The Houthis continue to demonstrate disregard for the regional impact of their indiscriminate attacks, threatening the fishing industry, coastal communities, and imports of food supplies,” United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement, warning that the ship’s cargo “could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster.”

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WATCH | Red Sea tensions: US warns attack by Houthis on cargo ships can cause environmental disaster

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Houthis vow to prevent rescue of leaking ship

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Yemen's Iran-backed rebel group has vowed to prevent the rescue of the leaking Rubymar before humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.

Houthi leader, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, said that they would only allow the rescue, and retrieval of the ship if people in the war-torn Gaza Strip had access to food, water, and medicine.

“The sinking British ship might be hauled in return for delivering aid vehicles to Gaza,” Al-Houthi said on X. 

Houthi attack on freighter Rubymar caused significant damage to ship, says US

CENTCOM on Friday (Feb 23) said that the Houthi attack caused significant damage to the ship causing an 18-mile (29km) oil slick.

Also read: US, UK launch fresh wave of strikes against 18 Houthi targets in Yemen

"The ship is anchored but slowly taking on water," Central Command said in a statement regarding the Belize-flagged UK-owned cargo ship.

The day after the attack, Yemen's rebel group spokesperson Yahya Sarea released a statement saying that the Rubymar was now at risk of sinking.

Earlier, there were reports that the ship could be towed to nearby Djibouti.

"Djibouti is the only immediate option where some repairs or recovery would be feasible," Reuters news agency quoted shipping and insurance sources as saying. "It is too risky for a ship in that condition to be towed too far or in more open waters."

The Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority on Feb 19, a day after the attack, had released a statement on its official X account saying that its Port Authority completed the safe repatriation of the Rubymar’s 24 crew members - 11 Syrians, six Egyptians, three Indian nationals, and four Filipinos – who were brought to the Djibouti area by the rescue vessel.

"The vessel has onboard 21,999 MT (metric tonnes) of fertiliser IMDG class 5.1, very dangerous," the authority said, adding the ship’s AIS transponder was switched off and it did not know the coordinates of the vessel.

The Houthis' strikes are forcing ships to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa, disrupting the strategically important Suez Canal shortcut that accounts for nearly 12 per cent of global maritime traffic.

(With inputs from agencies)