INS Visakhapatnam Rescues Merchant Vessel Under Drone Attack With 9 Indians Onboard

INS Vishkhapatnam rescued a merchant vessel with 22 crew members onboard under drone attack in the Gulf of Aden.

Indian Navy's warship INS Vishkhapatnam on Wednesday rescued a merchant vessel under drone attack with 22 crew members onboard including 9 Indians. The Marshall Island flagged MV Genco Picardy raised a distress call after suffering a drone attack at 23:11 hours on Wednesday, as per a statement issued by the Indian Navy.  

"INS Visakhapatnam, undertaking anti piracy patrol in Gulf of Aden, acknowledged the distress call and intercepted the vessels at 0030 hrs on 18 Jan 24 in order to provide assistance," it said. 

The merchant vessel reported no casualties and the fire caused due to the attack was also brought under conrol, the statement read. 

"Indian Naval EOD specialists from INS Visakhapatnam boarded the vessel in early hours of 18 Jan 24 to inspect the damaged area. EOD specialists, after a thorough inspection have  rendered the area safe for further transit. The vessel is proceeding to the next port of call." it added. 

Last month, the Indian Navy increased its deployment of warships, long-range maritime aircraft, helicopters, drones, and other surveillance assets after a series of attacks near the Indian Economic Zone 

“In response to these incidents, the Indian Navy has substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts in the Central/ North Arabian Sea and augmented force levels. Task Groups comprising destroyers and frigates have been deployed to undertake maritime security operations and render assistance to merchant vessels in case of any incident," the Navy said in a statement. 

It also said it was carrying out the surveillance operation to have complete awareness of the entire region

“The overall situation is being closely monitored by the Indian Navy in coordination with national maritime agencies. Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region,” it said.

The Navy has deployed four of its guided-missile destroyers – INS Chennai, INS Mormugao, INS Kochi, and INS Kolkata – for constant surveillance and immediate response in the case of an attack.

The announcement came after two major incidents of attacks on merchant vessels happened off the Indian EEZ. 

MV Ruen was attacked by pirates around 700 nautical miles from the Indian coast and a Liberian-flagged chemical tanker MV Chem Pluto was apparently attacked by drones, which happened 220 nautical miles South West of Porbandar.