New delhi: An Indian vessel sank after coming under attack in the Red Sea by an explosives-laden boat off Yemen's western coast, with all 14 crew members rescued, Yemen's government-aligned National Resistance Forces announced on Tuesday. The forces' December 2 news agency said the Faize Noore Oliya was attacked while sailing about 13 nautical miles south of Al Hudaydah, in the Red Sea, causing it to sink.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Yemeni Navy and Coast Guard carried out a joint rescue operation that saved all 14 crew members, including 13 Indian sailors and one Yemeni. No casualties were recorded, and the crew members were transferred to a safe location where they received medical assistance, the report added. The outlet did not specify the vessel's flag or ownership, identifying it only as an Indian ship. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack as of 1415GMT.
India's Ministry of External Affairs, which confirmed the attack on the Indian flagged commercial vessel, condemned the attack. 'Our Embassy in Riyadh is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Yemeni authorities for the safety and security of the crew,' it said in a statement late Tuesday. The ministry also said that 'continuing incidents of attacks on commercial shipping in the region are deeply worrisome.' 'The targeting of commercial shipping in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways in the region, in keeping with international law, must be restored at the earliest,' said the statement.
India's Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal wrote on US social media company X that the vessel was 'hit by a projectile,' causing it to capsize and sink. The National Resistance Forces are deployed along Yemen's western coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and are led by Tareq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council. The incident comes amid renewed threats to maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait following a resurgence of attacks on commercial vessels last month.
On July 20, the Houthi group announced what it described as a 'naval blockade' on Saudi Arabia. Riyadh warned that it would respond firmly to any threat targeting its vessels. The Bab al-Mandab Strait is a strategic waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Al Hudaydah, which is controlled by the Houthis, lies on the eastern coast of the Red Sea near a major international shipping lane.