CENTCOM releases photo of Houthi-hit vessel posing 'environmental risk'

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday morning released an image of the sunken MV Rubymar, a commercial vessel struck by the Houthis in late February, which now posed an environmental risk.

On Saturday night, the Italian Defense Ministry also released a statement to confirm it shot down a drone in the Red Sea area, as part of coalition forces responding to the Houthi threat in "Operation Prosperity Guardian."

"The Houthi terrorist attacks are a serious violation of international law and an attack on the safety of maritime traffic," Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement posted on X.

In terms of the MV Rubymar, CENTCOM informed on X that the Belize-flagged and UK-owned bulk carried sank into the Red Sea on Saturday morning after it was struck by the Iranian-backed Houthis on February 18.

"The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea," CENTCOM explained.

"As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway," it added.

"The Iran-backed Houthis pose a heightened threat to global maritime activities. The United States and coalition partners remain committed to safeguarding freedom of navigation, striving to enhance the safety and security of international waters for merchant shipping," the statement concluded.