Photos Show Damage to ‘Genco Picardy’ from Houthi Drone Strike

We’re getting our first look at damages caused by Houthi attacks on shipping.

The Indian Navy released the below two image showing damage to the Marshall Islands-flagged Genco Picardy after it was struck by a Houthi attack drone in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday. The attack resulted in the a small that the Master reported was extinguished.

The photos are the first to show damages from Yemen-based attacks by the Houthis since November.

The M/V Genco Picardy is a Supramax bulk carrier owned by U.S.-based Genco Shipping (NYSE: GNK).

Hours after the attack, U.S. forces conducted tomahawk land-attack cruise missile strikes on 14 Houthi missile launchers that were loaded to be fired in Yemen.

“These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,” CENTCOM said in its statement.

Wednesday’s drone attack marked the third hit on a bulk carrier by the Houthis in as many days and the second on a U.S.-owned bulker after the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, owned by U.S.-based Eagle Bulk Shipping (NYSE: EGLE), was struck by a missile on Monday, Jan. 15.

*Note: Previously we saw pictures of damages to the Chem Pluto in the Indian, however the U.S. assessed that the ship was hit by a drone launched from Iran while in the Arabian Sea approximately 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval, India.

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