The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has raised alarm over the “looming ecological disaster” posed to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by the sinking of the #UK-owned Rubymar vessel over the weekend, which went down carrying tonnes of fertilizer and fuel after a #Houthi attack.
IGAD stated that the Rubymar is loaded with more than 21,000 metric tonnes of ammonium phosphate fertilizer and fuel on board, equivalent to 200 tonnes of oil. The organization warned that “leaking fuel could devastate marine life and destroy coral reefs, sea life and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs in the fishing industry.”
According to IGAD, the region and the entire Red Sea arena would need a very long period of over 30 years to address the fallouts of such marine pollution and for the ecology to recover. The organization cautioned that “a discharge could also disrupt one of the busiest shipping lanes and affect seamless movement of goods and services through the Red Sea waterway.”
IGAD called upon all stakeholders to invest in peaceful options to address the looming environmental disaster and stated that attacks on ships must cease immediately.
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