Yemen's Houthis hit another US-owned cargo ship as strikes fail to deter

WASHINGTON — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed credit for hitting a US-owned commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the third such strike in just four days, as the group vows further retaliation for recent US and UK airstrikes.

Houthi spokesperson Yehiya Saree named the ship as the Genco Picardy, a bulk carrier listed as being owned by a New York-based shipping firm. Saree said the strike was carried out with “a number of suitable naval missiles.” The impact on the ship was not immediately clear.

US Central Command said the Marshall Islands-flagged Genco Picardy was hit by a one-way attack drone fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen around 8:30 p.m. Sanaa time. The ship continued sailing despite sustaining “some damage,” though no injuries were reported. 

The attack marked the Houthis’ third successful impact on a commercial ship in less than a week, seeming to suggest a shift from large-scale barrages to more precise strikes since the US and UK conducted dozens of airstrikes targeting Houthi missile and drone sites across Yemen late last week.