Houthi Missile Strikes UK-based Oil Tanker, MV Marlin Luanda In Gulf Of Aden

A Houthi missile hit the commercial ship MV Marlin Luanda in the Gulf of Aden. INS Visakhapatnam, a guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, swiftly responded by putting out a major fire on the ship. The ship’s captain, Abhilash Rawat, made the distress call and thanked the Indian Navy for their quick response.

The oil tanker, MV Marlin Luanda, which belonged to a UK-based company, was struck by a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen in the early hours of January 27. There were one Bangladeshi and twenty-two Indians among the crew of the ship. In a social media video, Rawat stated that they had lost hope, but the Indian Navy has done a tremendous job; they indeed went above and beyond to assist us, he added.

Ten firefighters from INS Visakhapatnam were dispatched, and after six hours of battling the fire, they were able to bring it down. They were provided with custom firefighting gear. According to an official statement from the Indian Navy, “The team is currently monitoring the situation to rule out any possibility of reignition.”

#IndianNavy‘s Guided missile destroyer, #INSVisakhapatnam, deployed in the #GulfofAden responded to a distress call from MV #MarlinLuanda on the night of #26Jan 24.
The fire fighting efforts onboard the distressed Merchant Vessel is being augmented by the NBCD team along with… pic.twitter.com/meocASF2Lo

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 27, 2024

Image Credits: Indian Navy/Twitter

Additional support was provided by the US and French warships that responded to the distress call. The Houthi rebels are attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea as part of the Israel-Hamas war; the attack on the MV Marlin Luanda is just one of many events that have occurred in the area. The Indian Navy consistently ensures sailors’ and commercial shipping safety.

In some similar recent incidents, the Marshall Island-flagged MV Genco Picardy sent a distress call on January 17 2024, and the Indian Navy’s guided missile destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, immediately responded. With 22 crew members, including 9 Indians, the MV Genco Picardy reported no casualties, and the fire was successfully contained. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist from INS Visakhapatnam boarded the ship early on January 18, carefully inspected the damaged section, and made it safe for transportation to the next port of call.

The INS Visakhapatnam also responded to a distress call from the Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, which was attacked by drones off the west coast of India earlier this month. The vessel, which had 21 Indian crew members, was exposed to the ongoing risks faced by ships operating in hazardous regions. Furthermore, the Indian Navy demonstrated quick decision-making in reaction to an attempted seizure of the MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea on January 5, 2024. The 21 crew members, 15 Indians, were safely removed from the citadel. The absence of hijackers was verified by MARCO sanitisation, indicating that the pirates most likely gave up after receiving an urgent warning from an Indian Navy Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) about being intercepted by an Indian Naval warship.

Another recent operation involves the active support of INS Chennai, near MV Genco Picardy, to facilitate the vessel’s journey to the next port of call by restoring power generation and propulsion. These incidents highlight the Indian Navy’s vital role in maintaining maritime security and its expertise in handling naval emergencies.

Reference: Indian Defense News, TOI

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