Indian Navy's INS Visakhapatnam, a guided missile destroyer, swiftly responded to a distress call by a Marshall Island-flagged ship with 22 crew members in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy said on Thursday.
"INS Visakhapatnam, undertaking anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden, acknowledged the distress call and intercepted the vessels at 0030 hrs on 18 Jan 24 to provide assistance. MV Genco Picardy with 22 crew (09 Indian) reported nil casualties and fire under control," the Navy said in a statement.
The merchant vessel was struck 60 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Aden, occupied by forces allied to Saudi Arabia and the United Emirates, by a drone launched by unknown assailants.
The officials said the Indian Navy's EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) specialists boarded the vessel early on Thursday morning to inspect the damage. After a thorough inspection they cleared the ship for further transit.
Earlier this month, Indian Navy marine commandos rescued 21 crew members from the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk off the coast of Somalia. The Navy's prompt response averted a major crisis in the North Arabian Sea.
After the incident, India's Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said the force was "proactively deploying" its warships in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea regions amid heightened hijacking threats from pirates.
Tensions in sea waters escalated as the The Anasarallah-led Yemeni government began attacking Israel-bound and -owned cargo ships in the Red Sea.
The Yemenis stressed that that the blockade would continue until Israel ends its assault on the Palestinian Gaza Strip that has left over 24,000 civilians dead.