India mounts sea-air patrols as unpredictable situation arises in Arabian Sea

-

Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the targeting of commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea by Iranian proxies, the Indian Navy has deployed five advanced guided missile destroyers in order to minimise the threat to sea lanes of communication in the Arabian Sea.

According to a Hindustan Times report, these vessels have been strategically positioned to monitor the situation from the Red Sea to the western coast of India.

INS Kolkata is stationed near the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, INS Kochi south of Yemen’s Socotra Island, INS Mormugao in the western Arabian Sea, and INS Chennai in the central Arabian Sea. INS Visakhapatnam patrols the north Arabian Sea, having left the Indian coast two days ago after an Iranian loitering ammunition Shahed 136 struck the chemical tanker MV Chem Pluto 210 nautical miles off Dwarka in Gujarat, added the report.

The Indian Navy has deployed these vessels into the Arabian theatre independent of the US-led coalition in the Middle-East region, added the report.

The navy has also been carrying out surveillance using Boeing P8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft and an unarmed version of the Predator drone with a focus on vessels that could be used by Iranian proxies to target commercial ships.

On its part, the Indian Coast Guard has employed Dornier surveillance aircraft and offshore patrol vessels to uphold deterrence in the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) along the western coast.

Simultaneously, the US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, accompanied by its strike force, is operating in the Mediterranean Sea, while the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier is positioned off the Gulf of Aden to counter the Houthi ballistic missile and drone threat in the Red Sea, added the Hindustan Times report.

Despite the success of the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in intercepting Houthi missiles, countries like Spain, Italy, France, and Japan are operating under their command, with Chinese warships off the coast of Djibouti maintaining a cautious distance from the fallout of Israel’s conflict with Gaza.

While the Chinese have three warships deployed off Djibouti, they seek to avoid potential conflict points.

The drone strike on MV Chem Pluto prompted an expanded Indian vigilance. Besides deterring Iranian proxies from attacking commercial shipping, the Indian Navy has been taking action against black shipping and is safeguarding commercial vessels from Somali pirates near the Socotra Islands. MV Chem Pluto is currently undergoing repairs in Mumbai.

According to the report, the five top-of-the-line destroyers are currently being fuelled by MV Swarnmala, a 25,000-tonne oil tanker, which has been hired by the Indian Navy. The civilian tanker has a massive fuel and lubricant capacity as compared to Indian Navy’s tankers such as the INS Deepak.

Indian ships, deployed across the extended EEZ up to 200 nautical miles off the coastline, dominate the Arabian Sea. Boeing P8I multi-mission aircraft and long-endurance unarmed Predator drones constantly survey vessels in the sea up to the Gulf of Aden, identifying suspicious ships and dhows used for targeting commercial shipping by the Shia Houthis in Yemen, Shia Kaitab Hezbollah in Iraq, and Tehran.

The Iranian proxies, particularly the Shia Houthi militia, target vessels in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea due to Israel’s conflict with the Sunni Hamas group in Gaza.

The Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah group has also engaged in a conflict with Israel on its northern border. Despite the US Navy’s success in thwarting Houthi missile attacks, the Maersk mega-shipping company plans to resume operations through the Red Sea, rather than taking a roundabout route via the Cape of Good Hope.

The Suez Canal, through which nearly one trillion dollars worth of oil and goods trade passes annually, faces increased transportation costs and higher insurance premiums for commercial shipping in the event of any threat.

With inputs from agencies



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/hys8njm
Sonam Chauhan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more