Houthi leaders have denied they have targeted critical underwater sea telecommunication cables, as Yemen’s UN recognised government warned of an imminent marine environmental disaster if a cargo ship struck by the rebels last week was not quickly rescued.

The Rubymar, a Belize-flagged but British-owned bulk carrier, has been drifting in the Red Sea after it was struck by two missiles. The ship, which is feared to be in danger of sinking, is leaking an 18-mile oil spill and carrying 41,000 tonnes of volatile fertiliser.

The 22 February attack on the Rubymar inflicted the most significant damage so far on a commercial ship since the Houthis started targeting vessels in November. The Houthis say their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea are in solidarity with the stricken people of Gaza.

It has long been feared that the Houthis might extend their actions by disrupting internet traffic and cutting sea cables.

Sixteen small fibre-optic lines across the bed of the Red Sea carry about 17% of all international data traffic, including trunk lines connecting Europe with India and East Asia.

It was reported on Monday that cables belonging to four major telecom networks – including the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), TGN Atlantic, Europe India Gateway and the Seacom system – have been damaged in recent months. The cause of the damage has not been identified and natural damage happens relatively regularly.

Israeli media reports attributed the damage to Houthi actions, but Yemen’s Houthi-controlled communications ministry denied involvement.

Seacom has confirmed that its cable between Egypt and Kenya was severed on 24 February and it is investigating.

Some of these lines are in relatively shallow water depths of as little as 300ft, where they could be accessible to divers.

The internationally recognised government of Yemen issued a warning of the potential Houthi threat to these subsea assets earlier this month, and has reportedly discussed it with telecom operators in the past.

The Houthis, an Islamist movement that seized Yemen’s capital in 2015, insist they are solely targeting Israeli linked ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, and say they will consider ending the months-long attacks if Hamas agreed a ceasefire.

The UK and the US have been mounting successive attacks on Yemen’s missile sites, but privately admit the best they can do is slow the pace and intensity of the attacks on shipping.

Tareq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council of the UN-recognised government, is in London to meet Foreign Office officials to discuss the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, the threat to submarine cables and the possibility of an environmental disaster caused by the strike on the Rubymar.

Saleh is the nephew of the late president Ali Abdul Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 22 years from 1990, the moment of Yemen’s reunification and was killed by the Houthis.

Saleh will want to discuss what help the UN-recognised government could provide to the British in targeting Houthi sites.

Saleh has to tread a politically delicate line since he, along with almost all Yemenis, is a fierce opponent of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and has to balance criticism of UK foreign policy to Gaza with its willingness to help US and the UK stop the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The director of the environment public authority, Faisal Al-Thalabi, said: The condition of the Rubymar was very bad and footage shows the ships tilting severely and close to sinking. Efforts are being made to tow the ship to Djibouti on the other side of the Red Sea to Yemen.

• Houthis
• Middle East and north Africa
• Yemen
• news