Ship with 25 Indian crew onboard hit by drone attack
The Indian Navy on Sunday said a Gabon-flagged vessel, identified as MV Saibaba, with 25 Indian crew members onboard, was hit by a drone attack in the Red Sea. Furthermore, Navy officials confirmed that all the crew members were safe. Reportedly, the United States (US) Central Command earlier said this crude oil tanker was among two vessels that came under drone attacks in the Southern Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Why does this story matter?
This development follows a series of missile and drone strikes by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a crucial Red Sea shipping lane since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October. The group has also expressed solidarity with the war-torn, Hamas-controlled Gaza. On October 7, Hamas killed almost 1,200 Israelis and took roughly 240 hostages during its cross-border attacks on Israel. The Jewish nation responded by launching a multi-pronged army aggression in Gaza, which has claimed over 20,000 Palestinian lives so far.
Details of drone attack on two tankers in Red Sea
The MV Saibaba attack reportedly happened around 10:30pm (IST) on Saturday, with a one-way Houthi drone hitting the ship. However, no injuries were reported in the incident. As per the US military, a Norwegian-flagged chemical tanker named MV Blaamanen also reported a near miss of a drone strike by the rebel group. The ships informed a US naval ship, USS Laboon, patrolling in the area that they were under attack, and it managed to shoot down four drones.
Check out US military's post on drone attacks
Ongoing attacks in Red Sea by Houthi rebels
The US military also flagged that these two attacks were the 14th and 15th such on commercial shipping since October 17 by Yemen's Houthi group. On Saturday, the Pentagon said that Japanese-owned MV Chem Pluto also came under attack by a Houthi drone "fired from Iran." However, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri stated the Houthi rebels operate on their "own decisions and capabilities."
Indian Navy, Coast Guard's prompt response after previous strike
Earlier, the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard deployed assets following the previous drone strike to aid MV Chem Pluto, which reportedly had around 20 Indian crew onboard. In a statement, the Indian Coast Guard later confirmed that the Liberian-flagged commercial ship was heading toward Mumbai after undertaking damage inspection and repairs on its power generation systems. It was carrying chemicals from Saudi Arabia's Jubail port to Karnataka's Mangaluru.
