NEW DELHI: In the wake of the recent drone strikes on India-bound commercial ships and increased attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the defence ministry on Sunday that “Indian Navy has enhanced maritime surveilliance” by deploying task groups comprising destroyers and a frigate in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Central & North Arabian Sea to protect its commercial assets and interest even as Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar has issued directions to the Navy to take all possible actions to enhance security and look out for any suspicious activity in the Arabian Sea region.
The Navy’s statement came on a day when another commercial ship, Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned Maersk Hangzhou, and US Navy helicopters came under ballistic missile attacks from “four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats in the Red Sea”, the US Central Command (Centcom) said. The US Navy foiled the missile attacks on the commercial ship and its helicopters by attacking the boats and in the process sinking three of the four boats with the armed crew. Soon after the attack on its vessel, Maersk has paused all sailing through the Red Sea for 48 hours.
The recent attacks on merchant ships have disrupted world trade, with major shipping companies taking the longer and costlier route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Suez Canal. The Red Sea is the entry point for ships using the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of global trade and vital for the movement of goods between Asia and Europe.
In a statement, the defence ministry said, “The last few weeks have witnessed increased maritime security incidents on merchant vessels transiting through international shipping lanes in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Central/ North Arabian Sea. The piracy incident on MV Ruen approximately 700 nautical miles from the Indian coast and recent drone attack on MV Chem Pluto, approximately 220 nautical miles South West of Porbandar indicates a shift in maritime incidents closer to the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ).” While Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew, was the target of a drone attack off the Gujarat coast on December 23, oil tanker MV Sai Baba was attacked with a drone in the Southern Red Sea the same day.
The ministry further said, “In response to these incidents, Indian Navy has substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts in the Central/ North Arabian Sea and augmented force levels. Task groups comprising destroyers and frigates have been deployed to undertake maritime security operations and render assistance to merchant vessels in case of any incident.” The Navy has deployed INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, INS Mormugao, INS Chennai and INS Visakhapatnam in the Arabian Sea region.
It also said that aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft (P-8I aircraft) and remotely piloted aircraft systems have also been enhanced to have a complete maritime domain awareness. Towards effective surveillance of the EEZ, the Indian Navy is operating in close coordination with the Coast Guard, the ministry said.
INS Hansa is the Indian Navy’s largest airbase on the western coast. The airbase has four Boeing P-8I long range maritime surveillance aircraft aside from short range Dorniers and the MiG29K fighter jets. Known as ‘India’s eye in the sky’, the P-8I has the capability of being airborne for about 10 hours with a full complement of advanced weapons. The Navy has also deployed the MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones for surveillance. Though unarmed, the two SeaGuardian drones, which were leased from the US in 2020, can deliver full-motion video and improve real-time situational awareness.