Navy helps douse fire on vessel struck by Houthis

The Indian Navy said on Saturday that its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam had responded to a distress call by a merchant vessel struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden, dispatching firefighting assistance to help contain a blaze that raged as a result of what was the latest in a series of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting vessels in the region.

- Rahul Singh

The incident, which underscores the worsening security situation in one of the world's busiest shipping routes, involved MV Marlin Luanda that has 22 Indian nationals and one Bangladeshi citizen as its crew, according to a statement by the Indian Navy.

Commodities trading firm Trafigura, which contracted the vessel, said in a statement later on Saturday that the fire had been extinguished and the crew was safe. "Based on a request from MV Marlin Luanda, INS Visakhapatnam has deployed its NBCD (nuclear biological chemical defence and damage control) team along with firefighting equipment to render assistance to the crew towards augmenting firefighting efforts on board the distressed MV," the Indian Navy said in a statement on Saturday. The statement added that a distress call was sent out by the struck vessel late on Friday.

"After six hours of battling the fire along with crew of MV Marlin Luanda, the Indian Naval firefighting team has successfully brought the fire under control," the Navy said in an update issued later in the evening.

The US military said earlier that a US Navy ship and other vessels were providing assistance after the Marlin Luanda was hit by a Houthi anti-ship missile.