US strikes Houthi missile launchers after latest Red Sea ship attack

The US Central Command forces struck 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles late-Jan. 17 that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen, CENTCOM said, the latest in a growing sign of security threat for commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

"These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves," CENTCOM said in a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the ongoing global efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on US and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

CENTCOM added that these strikes, along with other actions will degrade the Houthi's capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.

"The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways," said General Michael Erik Kurilla, US CENTCOM commander. "We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people."

US bulker

The latest US strikes come as Iranian-backed Houthi fighters struck the US owned and operated bulk carrier Genco Picard in the Red Sea via a drone launched from Yemen late-Jan. 17, according to the US Central Command, as a growing number of major shipping companies avoid the key waterway for global commodities trade.

"At approximately 8:30 pm [Sanaa time] Jan. 17, an assessed one-way attack UAS was launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen and struck M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden," CENTCOM said on X earlier in the day.

"There were no injuries and some damage reported. M/V Genco Picardy is seaworthy and continuing underway."

The Marshall Islands-flagged Genco Picard, owned and operated by Genco Shipping & Trading, was last seen at 10:22 GMT Jan. 15 sailing towards the north of the Red Sea at 0.6 knots, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea.

Shipping impact

In a move that will jack up global freight, Japan's NYK Line, among the world's largest ship operators, said on Jan. 17 it halted the passage of all of its operated ships through the Red Sea -- canceling an immediate VLCC cargo lifting -- amid increased security concerns in the wake of recent air strikes.

With several shipping majors halting transit through the Red Sea, a key commercial maritime waterway, the duration taken for voyages will increase, the supply of ships will tighten and freight will jump higher, market participants said.

Dozens of tankers have been diverted since the US- and UK-led Combined Maritime Forces, a naval coalition of 39 countries, launched counterstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen late last week, prompting commercial maritime associations such as BIMCO and Intertanko to advise their members to keep commercial ships away from the theater of conflict.

The latest drone attack came just hours after the US designated the Houthis as a specially designated global terrorist group due to its ongoing attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The development followed a missile that hit the US-owned dry bulk carrier Gibraltar Eagle on Jan. 15 in the Gulf of Aden. This was the US' first retaliation since US-led forces struck Houthi military sites in Yemen over Jan. 13-14.