The Indian Navy’s guided-missile destroyer replied to an SOS call from a commercial ship damaged by a missile in the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement released today. There were 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi on board. INS Visakhapatnam responded to the commercial vessel Marlin Launda’s distress call after it reported a missile hit. The vessel caught fire but fortunately no injuries or casualties were reported. The Gulf of Aden links to both the Red Sea, which has seen the effects of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the Arabian Sea.
Over the last two weeks, Yemen-based Houthi militants have launched a series of drone and missile strikes on merchant ships in the regions of Arabian Sea.
Similar incidents in the past
This is not the first time the Indian Navy responded to distress calls from naval vessels. On January 18, drones attacked a commerce vessel carrying Indian crew members in the Gulf of Aden. After receiving a distress call, India dispatched INS Visakhapatnam, which stopped the vessel and provided aid. On December 23, the Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, which carried 21 Indian crew members, was targeted by a drone strike near India’s west coast. On the same day as the MV Chem Pluto, another commercial oil tanker on route to India was targeted by a suspected drone strike in the Southern Red Sea. The vessel’s crew consisted of 25 Indians. On January 5, the Indian Navy’s marine commandos freed the crew of the captured Liberian-flagged cargo vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the Arabian Sea. Among the 21 crew members on the board, 15 were Indian.
In response to growing piracy and Houthi assaults, the Indian Navy has sent 12 warships to monitor the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.