A Marshall Island-flagged cargo vessel with 22 crew members, including nine Indians, came under a drone strike in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday night and the Indian Navy swiftly responded to the attack, officials said.

The Indian Navy's "mission deployed" guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam responded to the attack within an hour of receiving a distress call from the vessel Genco Picardy, they said.

The merchant vessel was attacked 60 nautical miles South of Port Aden.

The officials said Indian Navy's EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) specialists boarded the vessel early Thursday morning to inspect the damaged area.

The EOD specialists, after a thorough inspection, have cleared the ship for further transit, they said.

The vessel is proceeding to the next port of call.

"INS Visakhapatnam, mission deployed in Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations, swiftly responded to a distress call by Marshall Island flagged MV Genco Picardy following a drone attack at 2311 hrs on Wednesday," an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

"INS Visakhapatnam, undertaking anti piracy patrol in Gulf of Aden, acknowledged the distress call and intercepted the vessels at 0030 hours Thursday in order to provide assistance," he said.

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