‘Houthi Missile Attack’: One Bangladeshi onboard British tanker on fire

One Bangladeshi and 22 Indian crew members are on board a British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda which reported a fire outbreak in the Gulf of Aden, following an alleged Houthi missile strike.

The incident prompted the Indian Navy to rush its warship to join firefighting operations.

The fire broke out on the night of January 26 and the ship has 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members onboard, the Indian Navy said yesterday.

The navy sent its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam to the site after responding to a distress call from the oil tanker.

The firefighting efforts onboard the oil tanker are being augmented by a team of India’s National Biological and Chemical Defence along with equipment, the Indian Navy said.

“The fire-fighting efforts onboard the distressed Merchant Vessel is being augmented by the NBCD team along with fire fighting equipment, deployed by INS Visakhapatnam to assist the crew onboard the MV. The MV has 22 #Indian & 01 Bangladeshi crew onboard,” the Indian Navy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

While there was no official word on how the fire broke out, the blaze was reportedly caused by a missile fired by Houthi rebels.

Reuters yesterday reported that a Houthi anti-ship missile damaged an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Friday but no injuries were reported and a US Navy ship was providing assistance, the US military said.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Marlin Luanda issued a distress call and reported damage, US Central Command said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The USS Carney and other coalition ships were providing assistance to the oil tanker, it said.

About eight hours later, the US military destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launch, Central Command said.

The missile “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” it said.