Defense News ,Gulf of Aden :- In a quick operation, a guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam from the Indian Navy intercepted a cargo ship with 22 crew members, including nine Indians. This happened just over an hour after the ship, named MV Genco Picardy and flagged in the Marshall Islands, was attacked by a drone in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday night. The attack on the cargo vessel occurred about 60 nautical miles South of Port Aden, raising global concerns about attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
Fortunately, there were no reports of casualties, and the fire on the vessel was brought under control, according to officials.
The INS Visakhapatnam, a frontline warship of the Indian Navy, promptly responded to the distress call from MV Genco Picardy after the drone attack at 23:11 hours on Wednesday. The Indian Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists boarded the vessel early Thursday morning to inspect the damage. After a thorough examination, the vessel was cleared for further transit, and it is now heading to the next port of call.
"The INS Visakhapatnam, mission deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations, swiftly responded to a distress call by the Marshall Islands flagged MV Genco Picardy following a drone attack at 23:11 hours on January 17," stated the Navy.
The warship intercepted the vessel at 00:30 hours on Thursday to provide assistance. Commander Vivek Madhwal, a Navy spokesperson, mentioned that INS Visakhapatnam was on an anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden.
This incident follows previous security concerns, with the Indian Navy having thwarted an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea on January 5. Another vessel, MV Chem Pluto, was targeted by a drone off India's west coast on December 23, and a commercial oil tanker faced a suspected drone strike in the Southern Red Sea on the same day. These events prompted the Navy to increase the deployment of its frontline ships and surveillance aircraft for maritime security operations in critical sea lanes, including the North and Central Arabian Sea.
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