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| - Fact Check: Old, unrelated videos FALSELY linked to Houthi missile attack on British ship
Old and unrelated videos of sinking ships were shared as the Rubymar's fate following a Houthi attack.
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India Today Fact Check
These videos are old and unrelated incidents. One is from 2013 and the other is from Brazil.
Houthi rebels targeted the UK-registered bulk-carrier vessel Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden on February 18. The crew was forced to abandon the ship in the Red Sea after the Yemeni militia group fired two missiles. A Houthi military spokesman said the following day that “the ship was severely damaged, leading to its complete halt... It is now at risk of sinking in the Gulf Aden.”
Now, two videos of vessels sinking are being shared online with claims that they show the fate of the Rubymar post-Houthi attack.
THE FIRST VIDEO
The first video shows a ship with a red and black hull gradually submerging in water. A Facebook user, sharing the viral video, wrote, “NEW: Video of the Sinking British ship RubyMar, that was attacked by the Houthis, earlier today.” Its archive can be seen here.
We conducted a reverse search of keyframes from the viral video and found it in several news reports and social media posts linking it to the sinking of the M/V Atlantik Confidence in 2013 off the coast of Oman. Allegedly, the ship was intentionally sunk by the crew following instructions from the owner, who orchestrated the incident after setting the engine room ablaze.
The ship’s owner, Atlantic Maritime Company, was facing a financial crisis and reportedly devised the plan to sink the ship to claim insurance money. After setting the vessel ablaze, the crew abandoned it, leading to its eventual sinking about 138 miles off the coast of Masirah Island in Oman. Thus, it’s clear this video has nothing to do with a Houthi attack.
THE SECOND VIDEO
Another video of a vessel sinking was similarly claimed to be the Rubymar. The post claimed: “The British cargo ship Rubymar sinking after it was struck by a Houthis missile today. This is the consequences that everyone told Rishi Sunak there would be. The only solution is de-escalation.” Its archive can be seen here.
A reverse search of the keyframes from the clip led us to its extended version on a YouTube channel, where it was uploaded on June 12, 2020. This makes it clear that the video was unrelated to the recent incident.
The translated caption and description indicated that the vessel was called Steller-Baner and it sank near the state of Maranhao in Brazil. With further searches, we came across multiple reports from June 2020 that noted that the ship had become unfit and had several safety issues. Eventually, it was decided that the ship would be scuttled after towing to the middle of the sea.
While there are no recent updates or visuals of the Rubymar following the attack, online vessel trackers last recorded its position on February 18 at 15.05 UTC. According to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, the vessel was at anchor and the crew was evacuated safely.
Thus, it’s clear that old and unrelated videos of sinking ships are being shared as the Rubymar's fate following a Houthi attack.
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