The Indian Navy on January 27 said it dispatched its guided missile destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, to the Gulf of Aden after receiving a distress call from a British merchant ship. There are 22 Indian and a Bangladeshi crew on board.
The navy said that the MV Marlin Luanda sent an SOS signal on January 26 night after it was hit by missiles reportedly fired by Houthis off the Yemen coast. The Indian Navy said INS Visakhapatnam is helping with firefighting on the cargo ship.
"The firefighting efforts onboard the distressed Merchant Vessel is being augmented by the NBCD team along with firefighting equipment, deployed by #INSVisakhapatnam to assist the crew onboard the MV," it said in a statement.
"Indian Navy remains steadfast & committed towards safeguarding MVs & ensuring safety of life at sea," it added.
The incident comes amidst flare-ups in the Red Sea in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In light of the disruptions in key sea trade routes, the Indian Navy significantly increased its surveillance apparatus in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden by deploying frontline destroyers and frigates.
Earlier this month, the Indian Navy responded to a drone attack distress call from MV Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden on the night of January 17, and on January 5, it had thwarted an attempted hijacking of Liberian-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea and rescued all its crew members.
Earlier, Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew members, was the target of a drone attack off India's west coast on December 23.
Besides MV Chem Pluto, another commercial oil tanker that was on the way to India came under a suspected drone strike in the Southern Red Sea on the same day. The vessel had a team of 25 Indians.