Genco Shipping & Trading has confirmed that one of its supramax bulkers has been hit by an “unidentified projectile” while transiting the Gulf of Aden.
The US-listed bulker owner confirmed in a statement to TradeWinds that the 55,250-dwt Genco Picardy (built 2005) was hit at about 20:30 local time.
The company confirmed that all seafarers aboard the vessel, which is laden with a cargo of phosphate rock, are uninjured.
“An initial inspection by the crew indicates that damage to the vessel’s gangway is limited, and the vessel has remained stable and underway on a course out of the area,” the shipowner said.
“The company and vessel crew have remained in close contact with all relevant authorities,” it added.
The US Central Command said in a separate statement that the ship was struck by a “one-way attack UAS [unmanned aircraft system] launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen”.
Earlier in the day, the Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations said that a ship was hit on the port side by a UAS, also known as a drone.
The agency said the attack sparked a fire on the vessel that has now been extinguished and the vessel and crew are safe and proceeding to their next port of call.
Tracking data from VesselsValue shows that the ship last broadcast an automatic information system signal two days ago, when it was in the Red Sea after picking up a cargo in Safaga, Egypt. It was headed for Thoothukudi, the Indian city formerly named Tuticorin.
Maritime security firm Diaplous Group said a warship has responded to the incident.
The attack would be the second attack on a US-owned ship since a coalition forces launched air and naval strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Connecticut-based Eagle Bulk Shipping confirmed on Monday that its 64,000-dwt ultramax Gibraltar Eagle (built 2015) was damaged in an attack in the Gulf of Aden.
On Wednesday, Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that the Houthi military expects US-led forces to strike again and is ready for retaliation, according to a machine translation of the statement in Arabic.
After the latest incident, Diaplous said on Wednesday that a bulker saw a drone fly over, apparently correcting a previous alert that said the Marshall Islands-flag bulker had been hit.
The company said that ship was travelling eastbound in the International Recommended Transit Corridor about 52 nautical miles (96 km) south-east of Aden, a Yemeni port city that is outside of the area controlled by Houthis.
The attack came on the same day that the US put the Iranian-backed Houthi organisation, formally known as Ansar Allah, on a list of terrorist groups nearly three years after removing it.
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation,” US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said.
He said the designation will be in effect in 30 days, giving time for “humanitarian carve-outs” to be arranged.
Harry Papachristou and Joe Brady contributed to this story.
