Indian Navy Helps Rescue British Oil Tanker With Mostly Indian Crew Attacked By Houthis

The Indian Navy said on Saturday that the fire onboard the British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda has been brought under control, and a team of the Navy is monitoring the situation. This comes after the INS Visakhapatnam proceeded to provide assistance in response to a distress call from MV Marlin Luanda on the night of January 26. The Navy further stated that a US and French warship also responded to the distress call.

The tanker caught fire after a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants, the latest incident linked to the Iran-backed group in the key shipping route Gulf of Aden.

The British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda was carrying 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members. Based on a request, a firefighting team from INS Visakhapatnam comprising ten Indian Naval personnel with specialist firefighting equipment embarked on MV Marlin Luanda in the early hours of January 27, the Indian Navy said.

The Indian Naval firefighting team has successfully brought the fire under control after battling it for six hours along with the crew of MV Marlin Luanda, it further said. The team is currently monitoring the situation to rule out any possibility of re-ignition.

After being rescued from the fire, the captain of the merchant vessel praised the Indian Navy for fighting the blaze on his vessel saying that the Indian navy went out of their way with its specialised team to help them.

#WATCH | The Captain of the merchant vessel praises the Indian Navy for fighting fire on his vessel after it was hit by a missile. He says “The Indian navy went out of the way with its specialised team to help them” https://t.co/KU3zp5CRHK pic.twitter.com/toFI8T8Vd8

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2024

The US Central Command said that on January 26, Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, hitting the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda. It further stated that the ship issued a distress call, reporting damage, and the call was responded to by USS Carney (DDG 64) and other coalition ships, rendering assistance. No injuries were reported.