Houthis threatened on Sunday to target British ships repeatedly during the Gulf of Aden amidst the ship Rubymar owned by the UK’s loss. The US military reported on Saturday that the British-flagged ship Rubymar had sunk following an attack by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels on Feb. 18. “Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” the Houthi government deputy foreign minister, Hussein al-Ezzi, said on X.
“It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.” Yemen’s Houthi rebels, whose movement has been in possession of the capital, Sanaa, since 2014 and has been fighting an insurgency versus a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, have reported persistent capability to hit shipping convoys on the strategic waterway. The latest incident is the first ship that was entirely destroyed amidst their campaign versus the military airstrikes by the Gaza Strip over Israel.
The deputy foreign minister of the Houthi government, Hussein al-Ezzi, also signaled the group’s intentions on X, writing, “Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill.” Al-Ezzi criticized the UK for behaving like a “rogue state” that strikes Yemen and collaborates with America in funding crimes against the people of Gaza.
The Houthi attacks, carried out since mid-November as support for Palestinians, have significantly affected shipping globally, triggering rerouting and skyrocketing insurance costs, raising the possibility of global rates and delaying shipments carrying aid. The shipwreck of the Rubymar is likely to make things worse, with the US military’s Central Command highlighting the environmental risk, combined with the risk to navigation. The strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the captured Rubymar was, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is one of the chief cargo and energy traffic chokepoints. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre responsible for the British army, together with Yemen’s national government abroad, verified the loss of the ship.
The blanket attribution of the Houthis’ success so far in continuing their drone and missile strikes despite US and British calls for retaliation puts into question key questions over the success of the global response. The Houthis’ statement that the strikes will be resumed until Cairo closes up shop in Gaza has been denounced by the wider Arab world, giving the group broader global coverage.
