Indian warship responds promptly to call over drone attack on merchant vessel in Arabian Sea

New Delhi: One of the frontline warships of the Indian Navy on Thursday responded quickly to a distress call in the Arabian Sea after a Marshall Island flagged merchant vessel Genco Picardy came under drone attack on Wednesday night.

The strike on the cargo vessel MV Genco Picardy around 60 nautical miles south of Port Aden came amid increasing global concerns over attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.

“INS Visakhapatnam, undertaking anti piracy patrol in Gulf of Aden, acknowledged the distress call and intercepted the vessels at 0030 hours on Thursday in order to provide assistance. MV Genco Picardy with 22 crew (nine Indians) reported nil casualties and fire under control,” an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

Indian Naval explosive ordnance disposal specialists from the missile destroyer boarded the vessel to inspect the damaged area and after a thorough inspection have rendered the area safe for further transit. The vessel is proceeding to the next port of call.

INS Visakhapatnam was able to respond within just about an hour of getting the distress call as it was mission-deployed following the recent spate of piracy attempts and drone attacks in the Red Sea ad well as in the Arabian Sea.

India has deployed more than ten warships on the western seaboard to deter the pirates and provide assistance to commercial ships that come under attack.

The Indian Navy on January 5 thwarted an attempted hijacking of Liberian-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea and rescued all its crew members.

Last month, the blue-water force provided assistance to the Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto with 21 Indian crew members after it was hit by a drone off India's west coast on December 23.

Besides MV Chem Pluto, another commercial oil tanker (MV Sai baba) that was on the way to India came under a suspected drone strike in the Southern Red Sea on the same day. The vessel had a team of 25 Indian crew.