British oil tanker catches fire with 1 Bangladeshi, 22 Indians onboard

One Bangladeshi and 22 Indian crew members are on board a British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda which reported an outbreak of fire 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 today.

The navy sent its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam to the site after responding to a distress call from the oil tanker, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"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.

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.

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

The US Central Command said in a post on X the missile attack on MV Marlin Luanda was perpetrated by "Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists" who fired one "anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen" and struck the vessel at 7:45pm on January 26.

It said USS Carney (DDG 64) and other coalition ships have responded and are assisting the vessel.

The attack on MV Marlin Luanda is the latest in a series of attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea since last month.

Since Israel's attack on Palestine on October 7 last year, a series of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships rocked the Arabian Sea, especially on those bound for Israel.

The attacks have been reportedly perpetrated by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

The Indian Navy foiled a hijacking attempt on a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier in the Arabian Sea earlier this month.

The Navy has stepped up security and surveillance in the central and north Arabian Sea by deploying frontline destroyers, frigates, and long-range maritime patrol aircraft.