India Condemns Missile Attack on its Ship off Yemen Coast

Left Yaman Beach/ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class James Vazquez

JAKARTA - An Indian-flagged ship was hit and sunk by a projectile off the coast of Yemen. This latest incident once again highlights the risks that continue to threaten shipping in the region.

"The MSV Faize Noore Oliya was hit by a projectile near Yemeni waters," Sarbananda Sonowal, India's Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said in a statement on X, reported by CNN, Wednesday, August 5.

He did not mention which party was responsible for the attack.

"India strongly condemns this unprovoked attack on this defenseless, engineless sailboat," he wrote.

"The safety of our citizens is our top priority, and I am relieved to be able to announce that the 14 sailors (including 13 Indians) have been successfully rescued by the Yemeni Coast Guard and taken to Mokha Port," he continued.

The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the series of incidents of attacks on ships in the region as something of great concern. His party also called for an end to targeting commercial ships in the region.

According to a Reuters report, the Yemeni Ministry of Transport accused the Iranian-backed Houthi group of being the perpetrator of the attack, using a ship loaded with explosives. The news agency reported no comment from the Houthi group regarding this matter.

Last month, the Houthi group threatened to disrupt shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait - a crucial point at the southern tip of the Red Sea - expanding the scope of a conflict that has previously hampered oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

India is one of the largest providers of merchant sailors, with more than 300,000 sailors working around the world.

Many of them work on ships operating in the conflict-prone region, making them particularly vulnerable as tensions rise; there have also been a number of cases of Indian sailors dying as a result of this situation.