India’s guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam on Saturday responded to a misery name made by a service provider vessel that caught hearth after a missile assault by the Iranian-backed Houthis within the Gulf of Aden, with the incident placing the highlight on the worsening safety scenario in one of many world’s busiest transport routes, officers conscious of the matter mentioned.

The Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda was struck by the Houthi rebels on Friday, the newest in a sequence of assaults on industrial transport within the area together with the Red Sea and elements of the Arabian Sea, the officers mentioned. It is operated by UK-based Oceonix Services.

“Based on a request from MV Marlin Luanda, INS Visakhapatnam has deployed its NBCD (nuclear biological chemical defence and damage control) team along with firefighting equipment to render assistance to the crew towards augmenting firefighting efforts on board the distressed MV,” the Indian Navy mentioned in an announcement on Saturday.

The vessel’s crew consists of 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi.

The Mayday name was despatched out by the vessel on Friday night time, the navy mentioned.

Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists on Friday fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the oil tanker Marlin Luanda, the US Central Command mentioned in an announcement.

“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,” the US assertion added.

The US Central Command later mentioned its forces performed a strike in opposition to a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed on the Red Sea and which was ready 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 Navy ships in the region. US Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense. This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” the US Central Command mentioned in one other assertion.

Another Marshall Islands-flagged service provider vessel, which was not too long ago attacked by a drone within the Gulf of Aden, docked on the Tuticorin port in Tamil Nadu on Friday after the Indian Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists undertook an intensive examination of the ship and declared it secure for port entry.

INS Visakhapatnam had on January 18 responded to a misery name made by MV Genco Picardy after it was attacked. It was carrying a crew of twenty-two, together with 9 Indians.

The navy has stepped up surveillance within the troubled area considerably and deployed job teams consisting of round 10 warships within the face of the current assaults on India-bound service provider vessels together with MV Chem Pluto and MV Saibaba in December.

The drone assault on MV Chem Pluto occurred round 220 nautical miles south-west of Porbandar, whereas the opposite vessel was focused within the southern Red Sea.

The Houthi rebels have been concentrating on industrial transport within the Red Sea with missiles and drones after the Israel-Hamas battle started on October 7. Several transport corporations have suspended their operations within the Red Sea following the Houthi assaults, which have compelled mariners to alter course and take longer routes across the southern tip of Africa.

The assaults on industrial transport in and round Red Sea have been the main focus of discussions between exterior affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on January 15, with the Indian minister flagging issues in regards to the enhance in threats to maritime visitors within the area together with assaults within the neighborhood of the Indian coast.

The rising threats to industrial transport within the area have been additionally mentioned throughout talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in India for the Republic Day celebrations.

“They also expressed grave concern at the possibility of further expansion of the conflict in the region, including in the Red Sea, which already has a significant economic impact in the world. They recalled the utmost importance of upholding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and of respecting the international law of the sea,” the 2 sides mentioned in a joint assertion on Friday.

“The potential disruptions and the actual things happening in the maritime domain there (Red Sea), which is causing disruption to the commercial shipping is indeed a matter of serious concern and both leaders focused on it,” overseas secretary Vinay Kwatra mentioned on Friday.