The British oil tanker, Marlin Luanda, which was targeted by Houthi rebels on January 26, has 22 Indians on board. The Indian Navy is assisting in the fire fighting efforts. The Navy said its guided missile destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, was deployed to the Gulf of Aden on the night of January 26 in response to a distress call from an oil tanker.
“Fire fighting efforts on the distressed merchant vessel are being augmented by the NBCD team along with fire fighting equipment deployed by INS Visakhapatnam to assist the crew on board the MV,” the Navy said in a statement.
The Navy confirmed that 22 Indian and 1 Bangladeshi crew were on board the ship targeted by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The fuel tanker was operated on behalf of trading firm Trafigura, and the company confirmed that a missile struck the Marlin Luanda while transiting the Red Sea. A British oil tanker as well as an American warship, the destroyer USS Carney, were also attacked by the Houthi group.
This incident is also considered to be the largest confrontation at sea between Western forces and the Middle East in decades. Moreover, this is not the first time that the Houthi group has attacked an oil tanker with Indians on board. On December 24, 2023, an oil tanker carrying 25 Indians was hit by a drone fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. The Houthi group has been attacking oil tankers since last November and said it was doing so because of Israel's military action in Palestine. Following the attack in the Gulf of Aden, the UK government said the UK and its allies “reserve the right to respond appropriately”.
“We are aware of reports that the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker M/V Marlin Luanda has been damaged by attack in the Gulf of Aden. Current reports indicate that there are no casualties and nearby coalition ships are on the scene. A UK government official said, “We have been clear that any attack on commercial shipping is completely unacceptable and the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately.”
A Houthi military spokesman noted that their naval forces had launched an operation on an oil tanker, identifying the ship as 'British'. However, he has not yet admitted the attack on USS Carney.
