US-Owned Commercial Vessel Hit by Houthi Attack Drone

Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels shout slogans during a gathering to mobilize more fighters to battlefronts to fight pro-government forces, on June 18, 2017, in the capital Sanaa.Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images

Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Jan. 17 attacked a U.S.-owned commercial vessel traveling past the coast of Yemen, the U.S. military said.

The rebel group fired a drone that struck the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Genco Picardy, which was transiting through the Gulf of Aden, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

“There were no injuries and some damage reported. Genco Picardy is seaworthy and continuing underway,” U.S. Central Command stated about the unprovoked attack.

While the vessel is technically seaworthy, the ship’s captain said that the drone strike had started a fire.

“There was a fire on board, which has now been extinguished. Vessel and crew are safe and proceeding to next port of call,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) noted on social media.

Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on commercial vessels and warships passing through the busy shipping corridor near Yemen. Initially, the rebels said their strikes were about showing support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and pressuring Israel to stop its war against Hamas.

After months of attacks on Israeli and other commercial vessels in the vital shipping corridor to an estimated 10 percent of the world’s trade, President Joe Biden ordered a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 11.

U.S. forces were joined by military units from the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Bahrain. As a result, the Houthis have now switched to striking against American and British ships.

Houthis Say Won’t Stop Until Israel Ends War Against Hamas

In a Jan. 17 video statement on X, formerly Twitter, Houthi military spokesman Gen. Yahya Sarea reiterated the group is now targeting U.S. and British-owned ships, while also claiming responsibility for the attack on the Genco Picardy.

“The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target all sources of threat in the Arab and Red Seas within the legitimate right to defend dear Yemen and to continue supporting the oppressed Palestinian people,” he said.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that a retaliation to the American and British attacks is unavoidable, and that no future attack will go unpunished.”

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have ignored calls from the United Nations to halt their missile and drone attacks on ships using the Red Sea trade route. On Jan. 10, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution condemning Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and also called for Iran to cease its support of the rebels.

According to Gen. Sarea, the Houthis will only stop their attacks on shipping when Israel pulls its forces out of the Gaza Strip, where it’s continuing its military campaign to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities following the extremist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. Both Israel and the United States have stated multiple times they can’t withdraw until Hamas has been destroyed.

“The operations against Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege imposed on the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” Gen. Sarea said.

The White House has said more than 50 nations have been affected by the dozens of attacks carried out so far by the Houthis. The U.S. Maritime Administration has warned U.S.-owned ships to avoid traveling near Yemen until further notice because of the ongoing “risk to commercial vessels.”