While security and economic considerations have topped the U.S. and European counter-Houthi strategies, the intentional targeting of merchant vessels by the Houthis represents an unprecedented ecological threat to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to an analysis published by The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW)
Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco, a researcher who focuses on the security affairs of the Gulf region, noticed that the Red Sea is a maritime region with unique oceanographic and Eco systemic characteristics. It extends for about 1,200 miles between two narrow chokepoints – the Suez Canal to the north and the Bab el-Mandeb strait to the south.
On February 18, 2024, a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile struck the Belize-flagged bulk carrier MV Rubymar, causing an 18-mile oil slick. Risks of explosion from the ship’s cargo and Houthi attacks on towing operations delayed salvage missions.
Twelve days later, the ship sank off the Mokha coast. Laying at a depth of about 330 feet, the sunken bulk carrier poses a twofold environmental threat.
First, it sank holding approximately 200 tons of heavy fuel oil and 80 tons of marine diesel. Oil slicks pose cascading threats to coastal communities, aquatic wildlife, and highly sensitive ecosystems, such as Yemen’s Farasan Islands and Eritrea’s Dahlak Archipelago.
Second, the ship was transporting about 22,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer.
Although the cargo holds are still sealed, a massive leak of fertilizer into the Red Sea waters would cause extensive algal blooms with harmful consequences for the entire ecosystem, including large-scale fish die-offs and seawater contamination.
Mazzucco concluded that although no large-scale ecological catastrophe has occurred yet, any future Houthi attacks carry the considerable risk of triggering a mass pollution event, which could cause irreversible damage to the Red Sea region. The 15-month anti-shipping campaign has showcased that not only are the Houthis dangerous navigational disruptors, but they are also reckless eco criminals.