Video shows UK cargo ship sinking in Red Sea after Houthi missile attack
Footage filmed by an anti-Houthi group in Yemen shows a British-registered cargo ship sinking in the Red Sea.
The ship is believed to be loaded with potentially explosive fertiliser, which could pose health and environmental risks.
Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic.com, analysed by The Associated Press, identified the vessel targeted as the MV Rubymar, which is registered in the UK but operated by Lebanon.
The footage was first shown on anti-Houthi news outlet Al Joumhouria.
A missile attack by Yemen's Houthis on Sunday damaged the Belize-flagged ship travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, forcing the crew to abandon ship.
Nobody is believed to have been hurt.
The private security firm Ambrey reported the cargo ship had been on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khorfakkan in the United Arab Emirates.
Ambrey described the ship as being partially laden with cargo, with reports circulating that it was full of potentially explosive fertiliser.
The Houthis later also identified the ship as the Rubymar, as did the US military's Central Command.
The ship targeted in the Houthi attack reported sustaining damage after “an explosion in close proximity to the vessel,” the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre reported.
“Military authorities report crew have abandoned the vessel,” the UKMTO said. “Vessel at anchor and all crew are safe.”
Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree issued a statement claiming the attack, saying the vessel later sunk.
There was no independent confirmation the vessel sank.
“The ship suffered catastrophic damages and came to a complete halt,” Mr Saree said. “During the operation, we made sure that the ship’s crew exited safely.”
The Iran-backed Houthis also claimed they shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, something not immediately acknowledged by US forces in the region. However, the Houthis have downed US drones before.
Later Monday, the UKMTO and Ambrey said a second vessel came under attack in the Gulf of Aden.
Ambrey described the vessel as a Greek-flagged, US-owned bulk carrier bound for Aden, Yemen, and carrying grain from Argentina.
The same ship then came under attack again later in the day.
Meanwhile, the US military said it was conducting new airstrikes targeting the Houthis, including one that targeted the first of the group's underwater drone seen since they began launching attacks on international shipping in November.
Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.
They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperilling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Those vessels have included at least one with cargo for Iran, its main benefactor.
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