Indian Merchant Ship Hit By Missile, Navy Swiftly Responds To SOS With 22 Nationals Onboard

An SOS call by a merchant ship struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden has been responded to by a guided-missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, as stated in a navy announcement today.

On board, there are 22 Indians and a Bangladeshi.

Photo Credit: X/@indiannavy

Indian Merchant Ship Hit By Missile

The distress call of the merchant vessel Marlin Launda, after reporting a missile hit and catching fire, was taken by INS Visakhapatnam. The Indian Navy stated that firefighting assistance is being provided to the cargo ship by INS Visakhapatnam. The navy, in its statement, mentioned that it remains steadfast and committed to safeguarding merchant vessels and ensuring the safety of life at sea.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, SpokespersonNavy wrote, "Indian Navy's Guided missile destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, deployed in the Gulf of Aden responded to a distress call from MV Marlin Luanda on the night of 26Jan 24.
The firefighting efforts onboard the distressed Merchant Vessel is being augmented by the NBCD team along with firefighting equipment, deployed by INS Visakhapatnam to assist the crew onboard the MV. The MV has 22 Indian & 01 Bangladeshi crew onboard. Indian Navy remains steadfast & committed towards safeguarding MVs & ensuring safety of life at sea."

Amid concerns over increasing attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi militants during the Israel-Hamas conflict, instructions were issued by Admiral R Hari Kumar to firmly deal with such maritime incidents.

On January 18, a drone attack was faced by a merchant vessel with Indian crew members in the Gulf of Aden. Upon receiving a distress call, INS Visakhapatnam was deployed by India, intercepting the vessel and providing assistance.

The Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew members, was targeted in a drone attack on December 23. Another commercial oil tanker en route to India also encountered a suspected drone strike in the Southern Red Sea on the same day, with a team of 25 Indian crew members.