A ship attacked by Yemen鈥檚 Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel鈥檚 war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The sinking of the Rubymar comes as shipping through the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been affected by the Houthi attacks.

Already, many ships have turned away from the route. The sinking could see further detours and higher insurance rates put on vessels plying the waterway 鈥� potentially driving up global inflation and affecting aid shipments to the region.

The Belize-flagged Rubymar had been drifting northward after being struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

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Yemen鈥檚 internationally recognized government, as well as a regional military official, confirmed the ship sank. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization was given to speak to journalists about the incident.

The British military鈥檚 United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which watches over Mideast waterways, separately acknowledged the Rubymar鈥檚 sinking Saturday afternoon.

The Rubymar鈥檚 Beirut-based manager could not be immediately reached for comment.

Yemen鈥檚 exiled government, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late Friday as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea. The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who had falsely claimed the ship sank almost instantly after the attack, did not immediately acknowledge the ship鈥檚 sinking.

The U.S. military鈥檚 Central Command previously warned the vessel鈥檚 cargo of fertilizer, as well as fuel leaking from the ship, could cause ecological damage to the Red Sea.

Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, the prime minister of Yemen鈥檚 internationally recognized government, called the ship鈥檚 sinking 鈥渁n unprecedented environmental disaster.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a new disaster for our country and our people,鈥� he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 鈥淓very day, we pay for the Houthi militia鈥檚 adventures, which were not stopped at plunging Yemen into the coup disaster and war.鈥�

The Houthis have held Yemen鈥檚 capital, Sanaa, since 2014, expelling the government. Its fought a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a stalemated war.

Satellite pictures analyzed by The Associated Press from Planet Labs PBC showed smaller boats alongside the Rubymar on Wednesday. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear whose vessels those were. The images showed the Rubymar鈥檚 stern sinking into the Red Sea but still afloat, mirroring earlier video taken of the vessel.

The private security firm Ambrey separately reported Friday about a mysterious incident involving the Rubymar.

鈥淎 number of Yemenis were reportedly harmed during a security incident which took place鈥� on Friday, Ambrey said. It did not elaborate on what that incident involved and no party involved in Yemen鈥檚 yearslong war claimed any new attack on the vessel.

A satellite image taken Friday from Maxar Technologies showed new blast damage on the Rubymar not previously seen, with no other vessels around it.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. Those vessels have included at least one with cargo bound for Iran, the Houthis鈥� main benefactor, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled territory.

Despite over a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. That includes the attack on the Rubymar and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip, which have enraged the wider Arab world and seen the Houthis gain international recognition.

However, there has been a slowdown in attacks in recent days. The reason for that remains unclear.

Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press