Captain Avinash Rawat, the master of the merchant vessel on Saturday thanked Indian Navy for their efforts in extinguishing the fire on his ship following the missile strike. Rawat said, “Half of the world knows that yesterday, we were struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden. Due to the attack, our vessel was on massive fire. I would really like to thank Indian warship INS Visakhapatnam…”
“We had lost hopes, but these (Indian Navy) guys have done a tremendous (firefighting) job. They really went out of the book to help us out,” he added.
On Saturday, the Indian missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam promptly answered a distress signal from a merchant vessel that came under a missile attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Gulf of Aden. The MV Marlin Luanda, an oil tanker operated by the UK-based Oceonix Services, fell victim to the Houthi rebels on Friday. This incident adds to a string of attacks on commercial shipping in the broader region, encompassing the Red Sea and portions of the Arabian Sea.
“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 said in a statement on Saturday. The crew of the merchant vessel comprised 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi.
Regarding firefighting efforts aboard the merchant vessel, Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said, “After six hours of battling the fire along with the crew of MV Marlin Luanda, the Indian Naval fire fighting team has successfully brought the fire under control.” Madhwal stated that the team is overseeing the situation to eliminate potential for ‘re-ignition.’
In the previous week, INS Visakhapatnam intercepted a cargo vessel carrying 22 crew members, including nine Indians, shortly after the Marshall Island-flagged ship faced a drone strike in the Gulf of Aden.
On January 5, the Navy successfully prevented the hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea, rescuing all crew members.
(With agencies’ inputs)
Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
