Houthi rebels launch missile attack on yet another U.S.-owned commercial ship, Pentagon says

For the third time this week, Yemen-based Houthi rebels Thursday launched missiles at a U.S.-owned merchant vessel, the Pentagon said, the latest in a slew of such attacks from the Iranian-backed militant group on commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea.

At about 9 p.m. local time Thursday, Houthi rebels launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the M/V Chem Ranger, a U.S.-owned ship that flies under a Marshal Islands flag, according to U.S. Central Command.

Both missiles landed in the water near the ship, CENTCOM said, and there were no reports of injuries or damage to the Chem Ranger.

CENTCOM did not confirm exactly where the ship was when the attack occurred.

Since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,200 people and sparking the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Houthi rebels, who control large swaths of Yemen, have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in what they have said is an effort to support Palestinians.

After U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warned for weeks that there would be unspecified “consequences” for the Houthis, the U.S. on Jan. 12, launched the first of what would be several rounds of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Despite those missile strikes, the Houthis have vowed to continue their Red Sea assault.

On Monday, the Houthis fired a missile at the M/V Gibraltar Eagle in the southern Red Sea, CENTCOM reported. There were no injuries or significant damage, but the missile did cause an inconsequential fire in the ship’s hold.

And on Wednesday night, a Houthi-fired drone struck the M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden, causing some damage but no injuries, CENTCOM said.

Both the Gibraltar Eagle and the Genco Picardy are U.S.-owned and sail under Marshal Islands flags.

President Biden indicated to reporters Thursday that the strikes against the Houthis would continue.

“When you say ‘working,’ are they stopping the Houthis? No,” Mr. Biden said. “Are they going to continue? Yes.”  

On Wednesday, the State Department announced it was reclassifying the Houthis as a “specially designated global terrorist group.” That move reversed part of an earlier decision by the State Department in February 2021 that had removed that designation.

The White House has repeatedly accused Iran of being involved in the Houthis’ Red Sea attacks, allegations Tehran has denied.

However, the Pentagon on Tuesday said that, over the weekend, it seized a boatload of “advanced conventional weapons” sent from Iran to the Houthis.

— Olivia Gazis, Eleanor Watson and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.