Over the weekend, a significant incident unfolded in the Gulf of Aden, where a merchant vessel named Marlin Launda came under a missile attack, resulting in a massive onboard blaze. Responding promptly to an SOS call, the Indian Navy warship INS Visakhapatnam played a crucial role in extinguishing the fire. The targeted oil tanker carried 22 Indian nationals and one Bangladeshi crew member.
The Indian Navy shared a video on the X platform, formerly Twitter, wherein the captain of Marlin Launda expressed gratitude to the personnel of INS Visakhapatnam for their swift response. Captain Abhilash Rawat acknowledged the critical assistance, stating that they had lost hope in combating the fire until the Indian Navy’s experts intervened, going above and beyond to help.
According to an official statement from the Indian Navy, a team of 10 firefighters successfully brought the fire under control after a challenging six-hour battle alongside the merchant vessel’s crew. Ongoing monitoring is in place to eliminate any risk of reignition. Notably, the distress call also prompted responses from a US and a French warship.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that the missile strike on the vessel, owned by a UK-based company, was orchestrated by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. These rebels have been targeting merchant vessels in the Red Sea, a concerning development amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
- Advertisement -
This incident follows a similar situation on January 18, where INS Visakhapatnam responded to a distress call from another merchant vessel attacked by drones. In that case, the Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, carrying 21 Indian crew members, was targeted by a drone attack off India’s west coast on December 23. The Indian Navy’s continued involvement in responding to such incidents underscores the complex challenges faced in maritime security.
