The Indian Navy has dispatched guided missile destroyers to the Arabian Sea after an attack on an Israel-linked chemical tanker off its coast and continues attack on commercial vessels in Red Sea by the Houthis.
Three stealth-guided destroyers were deployed “in various areas of the sea” to “maintain a deterrent presence” considering the “recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea”, the defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday.
It was also using long-range maritime patrol aircraft for “domain awareness”, it said, reports Al Jazeera.
The attack came as a US-led task force sought to counter similar threats to maritime shipping in the Red Sea posed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Amid the uptick in maritime strikes, this was the first that the US has sought to directly pin on Iran. It was also the first on a vessel outside the Red Sea.
The Indian Navy said it was investigating the nature of the attack on MV Chem Puto, which “anchored safely” in the financial capital, Mumbai, on Monday.
The vessel had been “cleared for further operation” by its company, according to the ministry.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
