News - Yemen: US Central Command has acknowledged the sinking of the British ship Rubymar, which occurred after it was struck by a ballistic missile launched by Yemen. The vessel has remained submerged since February 18th.

The US military released an image of the sinking ship and confirmed that on March 2nd at approximately 2:15 a.m., the MV Rubymar, a Belize-flagged bulk carrier owned by the UK, sank in the Red Sea after being hit by a Yemeni anti-ship ballistic missile on February 18th.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have stated that they targeted the Rubymar with multiple naval missiles in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, after the vessel ignored warnings from the Yemeni Navy.

Despite warnings issued by Yemen about the ship's precarious condition due to water leakage in the engine room, the vessel remained abandoned for 12 days.

According to the US Central Command, "the ship had been slowly taking on water since the attack," claiming that approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea. It also claimed that as the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway.

Member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, held the British government accountable for the ship's sinking. He addressed the British Prime Minister, stating that the UK bears responsibility for the sinking of the MV Rubymar and for supporting the blockade in the Gaza conflict.

He added, "You have the opportunity to salvage the MV Rubymar by sending a guarantee letter signed by George Galloway to allow the agreed-upon relief trucks into Gaza at that time."

The Yemenis have made it clear that they will not hesitate to carry out qualitative operations against all hostile targets in defense of their homeland and in reaffirmation of their unwavering support for the Palestinian nation.

They said earlier that strikes targeting those ships in the Red Sea will not stop unless the regime ends its genocidal campaign.

International shipping companies, however, are safe to sail in the area if they are neither owned by Israel nor destined for ports in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to the Yemeni Armed Forces.

Prior to targeting the Rubymar ship, the Leader of the Revolution, Sayyed Abdulmalik Badreddin al-Houthi, had issued a warning to Britain, asserting Yemen's capability to counter British colonial ambitions. He referenced the targeting of the British ship Marlin Landa, which continued to burn "from night to night," as a demonstration of Yemen's resolve.

Britain, along with the United States and Israel, is carrying out aggressive actions against Yemen, violating the country's sovereignty and international law. This aggression is an attempt to break Yemen's blockade on Israeli ports in response to the conflict in Gaza.