India condemns attack on commercial vessel in Red Sea, 13 Indians rescued

India on Tuesday condemned an attack on the commercial vessel, MSV Faize Noore Oliya, which sank on the Red Sea. In a statement on the social media platform, Indian Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, informed that the vessel was attacked by a projectile near Yemeni waters, causing the "vessel to capsize and sink." He also informed that there were no casualties and all 14 seafarers have been rescued by Yemen's coast guard.

“India strongly condemns this unprovoked attack on the defenceless mechanised sailing vessel. The safety of our people is our supreme priority & I am relieved to inform that ALL 14 seafarers (including 13 Indians) have been safely rescued by the Yemeni Coast Guard and brought to the Port of Mokha,” said Sarbananda Sonowal in a post on the platform X.

The vessel was a mechanised sailing ship and was hit by an unprovoked projectile strike near Yemeni waters. Indian Ministry of External Affairs has also condemned the attack on Indian commercial vessels and expressed serious concern, calling the development in the region “deeply worrisome”. It acknowledged the Yemeni authorities for their rescue effort and said that it is in close contact with the embassy in Riyadh for further developments.

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“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,” read the statement. The statement does not specify or hold anyone responsible for the attack.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The National Resistance Forces are deployed along Yemen's western coast near the Strait and are led by Tareq Saleh, a member of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council. On July 20, the Houthi group announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, in retaliation for a strike on Sanaa International Airport. The strait has been highly militarised against the backdrop of the US-Iran war. There have been repeated reports of attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait. It handles approximately 10 per cent of global maritime commerce.