INS Visakhapatnam, the Indian Navy warship, came to the rescue of a cargo vessel under attack by drones in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, January 11. The Indian Navy said in a statement that India deployed the warship after receiving a distress call by Marshall Island flagged MV Genco Picardy.
#IndianNavy“s Guided Missile Destroyer #INSVisakhapatnam, mission deployed in #GulfofAden for #antipiracy ops, swiftly responded to 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 by Marshall Island flagged MV #GencoPicardy following a 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 at 2311 hrs on #17Jan 24 & intercepted the… pic.twitter.com/FOs5aAxLzV
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 18, 2024
An Indian Navy spokesperson said that INS Visakhapatnam, deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations, swiftly responded to distress at 11.11 p.m. on Wednesday. The spokesperson also added that the INS Visakhapatnam acknowledged the distress call, intercepted the vessels at 12.30 am on Thursday, and provided assistance. “MV Genco Picardy with 22 crew (incl 09 Indian) reported nil casualties & fire under control,” said the spokesperson of the Indian Navy on the X handle. The vessel was attacked 60 nautical miles south of Port Aden.
The Indian Navy also informed that EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) specialists boarded the vessel early Thursday morning to inspect the damaged area. “Damaged area thoroughly inspected & rendered safe by EOD specialists for trasiting to next port of call,” added the Navy spokesperson on the X handle.
The latest attack on the cargo vessel came amid concerns over the rising attacks of Houthi militants against merchant vessels in the Red Sea. On January 5, the Indian Navy rescued 21 crew members aboard the cargo ship that was hijacked near the coast of Somalia. This rescue operation was conducted by the Indian Navy”s elite MARCOS commandos.