The Indian Navy’s guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam — deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations — responded to a distress call from the British oil tanker, MV Marlin Luanda, on the night of January 26 after it was struck by a suspected Houthi anti-ship missile that caused a fire onboard the stricken vessel.
The Marlin Luanda has 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi among its crew, the navy said on Saturday.
According to an Indian Navy statement, the fire onboard the Marlin Luanda has been brought under control. Based on a request from the Master of the vessel, the fire-fighting team from INS Visakhapatnam comprising 10 Indian Naval personnel with specialist equipment embarked the vessel in early hours of Saturday.
After six hours of battling the blaze along with the crew of the MV, the Indian team successfully brought the fire under control.
The team is currently monitoring the situation to rule out any possibility of re-ignition.
The tanker caught fire after a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants — the latest incident in a series of drone and pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea and parts of the Arabian Sea by the Iran-backed group.
The British oil tanker is said to have been “struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden after transiting the Red Sea”.
“The Indian Navy remains steadfast and committed towards safeguarding MVs (merchant vessels) and ensuring the safety of life at sea,” an Indian Navy spokesperson said on Saturday. The US also confirmed the Houthi strike on Marlin Luanda.
“On January 26, at approximately 7:45 pm (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired one anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X on Saturday.
“The ship issued a distress call and reported damage. USS Carney (DDG 64) and other coalition ships have responded and are rendering assistance. No injuries have been reported at this time.”
CENTCOM said US Central Command Forces conducted a strike at 3.45 am on January 27 “against a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch”.
“US Forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US naval ships in the region.
US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defence. This action will protect the freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US navy vessels and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said.
Over the past few months, there have been a series of attacks on merchant ships from Houthi rebels in Yemen in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea including the two Indian-crewed vessels headed to the sub-continent that were targetted last month.
On January 5, the navy’s maritime commandos (MARCOs) rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from MV Lila Norfolk merchant vessel after an attempted hijack off Somalia’s coast in the Arabian Sea by unknown pirates. The navy had deployed a warship, maritime patrol aircraft P-81, and long-range Predator MQ9B drones to carry out the operation.
The Indian Navy has stepped up surveillance in the key shipping route and has now deployed over 10 warships with marine commandos in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, showing its naval presence to deter piracy.
