Indian Navy warship helps vessel struck by missile in Gulf of Aden

Indian Navy warship helps vessel struck by missile in Gulf of Aden

NEW DELHI: An Indian warship has once again come to the aid of a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, which was hit by a ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels of Yemen on Friday night.

The NBCD (nuclear, biological and chemical damage control) team, with fire-fighting equipment, from guided-missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam boarded Marshall Island-flagged Marlin Luanda to help the 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members on board the tanker on Saturday.

“INS Visakhapatnam, which was deployed in the Gulf of Aden, rendered assistance after the merchant vessel in distress requested it. No injuries have been reported so far. The Indian Navy remains steadfast and committed towards safeguarding merchant vessels and ensuring safety of life at sea,” an officer said.

The US Central Command said “the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists” had fired one anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck MV Marlin Luanda at 7.45 pm (Sanaa time) on Friday.

US warship USS Carney, and other coalition ships also responded to the distress call by MV Marlin Luanda, which was 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden in Yemen, and provided material support.

Crucial maritime trade between Europe and Asia is facing major disruption due to escalating attacks by Houthi rebels and Somali pirates on merchant ships transiting through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea over the last few months.

While India has not joined the US-led multi-nation `Operation Prosperity Guardian’ underway in the Red Sea, it has independently deployed an unprecedented 10-12 frontline warships in the region stretching from the north and central Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Aden, as was first reported by TOI.

INS Visakhapatnam had also come to the aid of a cargo vessel, MV Genco Picardy, after it was hit by a drone in the Gulf of Aden on Jan 17. The Navy has stepped-up deployments amid concerns that such maritime incidents are shifting closer to the Indian EEZ.

On December 23, for instance, there was a drone attack on Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, which had 21 Indians and one Vietnamese as crew members, around 220 nautical miles southwest of Porbandar.

Another Indian destroyer INS Chennai and its marine commandos, backed by P-8I long-range patrol aircraft, had also thwarted the attempted hijack of a Liberia-flagged merchant vessel MV Lila Norfolk and rescued the 21-member crew (including 15 Indians) in north Arabian Sea on January 5.

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