Indian Navy warship INS Visakhapatnam has helped a cargo vessel under drone attack in the Gulf of Aden. INS Visakhapatnam, which was undertaking anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden, swiftly responded to a distress call by Marshall Island flagged MV Genco Picardy following a drone attack at 11:11 pm on 17th January, according to a statement by the Indian Navy. Indian Navy has swiftly responded to the distress call. INS Visakhapatnam has been deployed for the mission in Gulf of Aden.  

Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh, Controller Personnel Services Indian Navy on 17th January said that the Navy's warships deployed in the Persian Gulf, off Somalia's coast and the Gulf of Aden will deter piracy and protect merchant vessels. 

Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh, Controller Personnel Services Indian Navy had said that the Indian Navy has deployed a huge number of large combatants, which includes the Kolkata class destroyers, many frigates and other ships, to sustain forces there and carry out operations that are primarily focused on ensuring the safety of shipping as well as carrying out anti-piracy operations in the regions. 

"One of the major roles of the Indian Navy is the protection of our maritime interests and that includes the protection of our trade, which travels through the oceans. Our ships are presently deployed for mission-based deployments across our interest in the Indian Ocean region, specifically because of the recent incidents in the area of the Red Sea, off the Somalia coast, in the Gulf of Aden. We have deployed a large number of large combatants, which includes the Kolkata class destroyers, many frigates and other ships, to sustain our forces there and carry out operations that are primarily focused on ensuring the safety of our shipping as well as carrying out anti-piracy operations..." Gurcharan Singh said. 

Indian Navy has now deployed almost 10 frontline warships with marine commandos in the region stretching from the north and central Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Aden. 

On December 23, Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew members, was the target of a drone attack off India’s west coast. Besides MV Chem Pluto, another commercial oil tanker on the way to India came under a suspected drone strike on the same day. In another incident, pirates tried to hijack the Malta-flagged vessel MV Ruen on December 14. 

Image Source: The National