The UN has invited donor countries to contribute to the costs of cleaning up pollution caused by the sinking of the British Rubymar following a Houthi attack off the coast of Mocha in February, revealed Yemeni government sources.
“The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued a call for contributions of donor countries to help clean up pollution that has begun to emerge due to the sinking of Rubymar in Yemen,” the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday.
The Rubymar sank following a Houthi attack on February 18.
According to sources, the IMO’s call to clean up pollution followed the “unfounded” recommendations of a UN panel of experts, who suggested that the ship be left to sink, and assured that its cargo of fuel and fertilizer would slowly leak into the water and its effect would disappear.
“IMO has not yet responded to the observations of the Yemeni government concerning the ship, but it issued a call for contributions of oil pollution response equipment to support operations related to the sinking of Rubymar following a missile strike launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis,” the sources said.
Five months ago, the cargo ship Rubymar was targeted by a Houthi ballistic missile, IMO said earlier.
Two weeks later, it sank off the coast of Mocha with approximately 22,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate-sulphate fertilizer, 200 tons of heavy fuel oil, and 80 tons of marine diesel on board.
Oil Slick
IMO said the ship sank in approximately 100m of water and resulted in a 29-km oil slick in the days following the incident.
The ship is currently partially submerged at the location of its sinking, with the remaining bunker fuel and fertilizer cargo onboard representing a significant environmental threat to Yemen, in particular to the nearby Hanish Islands, a biologically rich area, it added.
IOM said it takes the opportunity to invite in-kind contributions of spill response equipment in support of Yemen in the face of this environmental threat, recognizing the lack of specialized oil spill response equipment within the country to respond to a possible leak from the ship.
The 49-item list of equipment needed to respond to this environmental disaster includes equipment for marine containment and recovery operations, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV or ROV).
The IMO’s call came while the UN is still unable to complete the salvaging of the dilapidated Safar oil tanker after the cargo of oil aboard the tanker was pumped onto a replacement vessel purchased from donor donations, due to Houthi objections.
The Yemeni government has been insistent that the international community offer immediate assistance to handle the Rubymar ship and retrieve it to prevent its cargo from spilling into the sea.
