After UK-owned cargo vessel Rubymar sank in the Red Sea, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis vowed to continue attacking British vessels in the Gulf of Aden.
"Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain's bill," Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, wrote on X.
"It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza," he added.
The US military on Saturday confirmed that the Belize-flagged Rubymar had sunk after being struck by a Houthi anti-ballistic missile on February 18.
The vessel after being struck had been drifting northward. The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea, the US military said in a statement. The further leak of the fuel oil from the engines also poses a threat of disrupting the balance of the marine ecosystems.
The cargo ship had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though several efforts were made to tow the ship.
The intensified Red Sea attacks by the Houthis since November last year have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
The US and UK launched strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in January in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping. However, Houthis vowed that they will continue to target the ships until Israel stops its combat operations in Gaza.
