MV Rubymar: Timeline of its sinking by the Houthis
This is a smaller scale example of what could still go wrong with the oil from the Safer.
The MV Rubymar sank on Saturday, 2 March 2024, two weeks after it was hit by Houthi missiles while passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, forcing its crew to abandon ship.
The Belize-flagged cargo ship was “carrying 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertiliser from the United Arab Emirates to Bulgaria and had been chartered by the Saudi Arabian commodities and mining company, Ma’aden”.
Origins of the MV Rubymar
While various news reports originally listed it as being “UK-owned” or “British”, the reason the Houthis cited behind targeting the cargo ship, it was later clarified that this was a case of mistaken identity. As reported by Richard Meade of Lloyds List:
THE two missiles that sank Belize-flagged bulker Rubymar (IMO: 9138898) last week were fired on the basis of an outdated UK address linked to the Lebanon-based owners which, in the eyes of the Houthi rebels, made the vessel “British”.
That address — a private apartment inside a residential block of flats in Southampton recorded in the Equasis public database — has not been linked to the Rubymar’s owner, Mr Hassan Chahadah, for several years, Lloyd’s List can confirm.
The operator of the vessel is a Lebanese registered company, incorporated in the Marshall Islands and ultimately owned by Lebanese national Captain Wael Chahadah.
The Bulk Carrier, 172 metres long and 27 metres wide, has seen previous identities as the Ken Shin, Chatham Island and Ikaria Island, and most recently of note was involved in 2023 in carrying grain out of Ukraine as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The Red Sea Crisis
In short, the Red Sea Crisis began in late October 2023 when the Houthis started to fire rockets and launch drones northwards towards Israel, in what they said was retaliation for Israel’s war on Hamas after the events of 11 October when Hamas attacked Israel.
It expanded on 19 November when the Yemen-based group hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea and then proceeded to attack numerous other ships attempting to traverse the strategic trade waterway, even though there were no apparent links to Israel. The Houthis then began to aggressively engage with vessels with links to the likes of the United States and the United Kingdom who have provided navy support for ships passing through the Red Sea.
As a result, hundreds of ships rerouted 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometres) around the southern end of Africa, an expensive and time-consuming trip. However, some still decided to take the risk and have come under attack, despite the increase in insurance premiums - if being issued at all - and the presence of western navies such as the United States and the UK. The MV Rubymar was the first vessel to actually be sunk as a result.
MV Rubymar comes under attack
On the evening of Sunday, 18 February 2024, as the MV Rubymar was making its way though the Bab al-Mandab Strait, between Djibouti and Yemen, the Houthis launched anti-ship ballistic missiles which hit the vessel.
The 24-man crew sent out a distress signal and were subsequently rescued by a passing merchant ship and US-led Coalition forces (who had the previous month launched some strikes on the Houthis in reaction to the targeting of passing sea traffic); the crew, from Syria, Egypt, India and the Philippines, ended up in Djibouti.
As for the Rubymar, while anchored it began to take on water as well as leave a 30 kilometre fuel spill trailing across the Red Sea. Authorities in both Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Aden refused to allow the Rubymar to dock due to concerns over explosive fertiliser. And two weeks later it sank.
An environmental and fishing disaster, and shipping hazard
With 21,000 tonnes of fertiliser and up to 7,000 barrels of oil onboard the sunk ship, the region faces a large disaster due to the characteristics of the Red Sea:
Ian Ralby, founder of maritime security firm IR Consilium, said the environmental disaster had less to do with the size of the vessel's cargo than the unique natural features and use of the Red Sea. Aggravating concerns over the Rubymar's sinking are the unique circular water patterns of the Red Sea, which operates essentially as a giant lagoon, with water moving northward, toward the Suez Canal in Egypt, during winter and outward to the Gulf of Aden in summer. "What spills in the Red Sea stays in the Red Sea," Mr Ralby said. "There are many ways it can be harmed."
Potential negative impacts include those to marine life, coral reef, seaweed and local communities who rely on fishing for their livelihoods, as well as desalination plants providing drinking water to neighnouring populations. The submerged vessel also poses a hazard for ships passing by. And with a dispute between the owner of the Rubymar and its insurer, Thomas Miller Speciality, over whether basic war risk being included, it might fall on the government to foot the bill of any required cleanup.
What lies ahead
An inevitable environmental and humanitarian disaster looms, all in the midst of a Red Sea in turmoil and wider geopolitical tensions. It is hoped that some kind of salvage operation can be launched but, even if this were to occur very soon, it will be surely too late to mean no damage will be seen. While this does not mean all is lost, it will take a concerted and co-ordinated effort to minimise potential harms.
The international community has worked together to try and ward off a much larger (but similar in nature) disaster, the FSO Safer, and while this was successful - temporarily - it took a very long time to come to fruition.
While the Make Safer Better newsletter will continue to cover that very important story, it will also expand to now cover the plight of the Rubymar and its cargo now under the sea with potentially disastrous outcomes for the region.