Houthis fire missiles at another US-owned ship in the Red Sea

Houthi militants in Yemen fired missiles at an American-owned commercial vessel on Thursday, the same day President Joe Biden acknowledged US airstrikes have not halted the Red Sea attacks.

The Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Chem Ranger, a Greek-operated tanker, US Central Command said in a statement posted on social media platform X. It was the third such attack in three days.

“The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship,” Central Command said in the statement.

“Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” Biden said of the air campaign against the Houthis which began a week ago.

A day earlier, the American military targeted 14 Houthi missiles just before midnight Yemeni time. They were ready to be launched and presented “an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” Central Command said.

That airstrike was carried out after the American-owned Genco Picardy was attacked by a drone in the Gulf of Aden, near the southern end of the Red Sea.

The danger to commercial shipping in the Red Sea has started to disrupt shipments of produce and is threatening to halt a slowdown in food inflation. 

On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced it would place the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, back on a global terrorism list in an effort to cut off the group’s ability to fund its attacks. The move reversed Biden’s previous decision to remove the Houthis’ terror designations in order to ensure humanitarian aid flowed to Yemen after years of civil war.