An agreement is expected to be announced between the Yemeni government and United Nations on a joint plan to deal with the Rubymar British vessel sunk by the Iran-backed Houthi militias off the coast of Mocha in February, revealed Yemeni government sources.

They said that the government crisis cell, chaired by Minister of Water and Environment Tawfiq al-Sharjabi, will meet with UN experts on Thursday.

The meeting will discuss the government plan to address the sinking and avoid an environmental disaster.

The Rubymar sank following a Houthi attack on February 18.

The crisis cell met this week to address means to avert a disaster should the ship’s cargo of fuel and hazardous fertilizer seep into the sea.

The meeting was attended by Yemen’s Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Ahmed Arman.

Al-Sharjabi underscored the danger posed by the vessel to marine life. He held the owner of the ship responsible for the damage that could happen to marine life in Yemen or international shipping lanes.

He slammed the owner company for failing to take the necessary measures to save the ship and keep it afloat in spite of the facilitations provided by the Yemeni government.

Arman reminded the gatherers of the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) that holds the owner of a vessel responsible for handling any situation it encounters.

Meanwhile, two government sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that after reviewing the government proposals on the crisis, the UN team will head to the location of the sunken ship to assess the situation.

One of the options on the table calls for working with a company specialized in rescue operations to handle the ship and retrieve it to prevent its cargo from spilling into the sea.

The government has been insistent that the international community offer immediate assistance to tackle the situation and avert imminent disaster.

France has expressed readiness to dispatch a team of experts to assist the government in containing the repercussions of the crisis, revealed the sources.

French Ambassador to Yemen Catherine Corm-Kammoun relayed this position to Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi.

Last week, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said it was “extremely concerned” about the looming ecological disaster posed to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by the sinking of Rubymar.

“The Rubymar is loaded with more than 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate fertilizer and fuel on board. That’s equivalent to 200 tons of oil. Leaking fuel could devastate marine life and destroy coral reefs, sea life and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs in the fishing industry as well as cut littoral states off from supplies of food and fuel,” it warned.

The IGAD region and the entire Red Sea arena would need a very long time to address the fallout of marine pollution, while the Red Sea ecology “would need more than 30 years to recover from the resulting dire consequences of the fuel leak,” it said.

“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 calls upon all the stakeholders to invest in peaceful options to address the looming environmental disaster in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The attacks on ships must cease,” it demanded.