A British container ship is slowly sinking in the Red Sea after being hit by Houthi missiles earlier this month.

Footage from Houthi-run media shows the Rubymar, a British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo vessel, listing and disappearing into the water.

Laden with 41,000 tons of fertiliser which is now feared a major environmental risk, the ship was attacked on February 18, as it sailed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The missile attack forced the 24 crew members to abandon the Belize-flagged vessel, which had been on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates.

Satellite images showed the stricken vessel leaking oil in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace has picked up in recent days.

During normal operations, about 400 commercial vessels transit the southern Red Sea at any given time.

While the Houthi attacks have only actually struck a small number of vessels, the persistent targeting and near misses that have been shot down by the US and allies have prompted shipping companies to reroute their vessels from the Red Sea.