India condemns Red Sea attack after cargo ship sinks near Yemen; 13 Indian sailors rescued
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has condemned “the attack on the Indian-flagged commercial vessel MVS Faize Noore Oliya that sank in the Red Sea, off the coast of Yemen on August 4, 2026”. There were 13 Indian sailors on the ship, all of whom were rescued. The ship was reportedly “hit by a projectile”.
Media reports blamed the attack on the Houthi rebels of Yemen. The Houthis of Yemen, like Hezbollah of Lebanon and Hamas of Palestine, are a militia loyal to the Ayatollah-led regime in Iran.
For about three years now, Houthi rebels have been carrying out attacks in the Red Sea in retaliation against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, following the October 7, 2023, terrorist invasion of Jewish territories by Hamas.
The Houthis have also claimed another Red Sea attack on the Saudi Arabia-flagged tanker Wafaa. The Albawaba news website quoted Houthi group military spokesperson Yahya Saree as saying on Wednesday morning: “The Yemeni Armed Forces conducted a military operation targeting the Saudi oil tanker Wafaa north of the Red Sea off the Yambu area using several ballistic missiles.”
In this context, “Yemeni Armed Forces” refers to the Houthi rebel forces, and not that of the internationally recognised Yemeni government backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition.
Following the sinking of the Indian-flagged ship on Tuesday, the MEA statement said that the Indian embassy in Riyadh was “closely monitoring the situation and proactively co-ordinating with the Yemeni authorities for the safety and security of the crew”. The ministry thanked the Yemeni authorities for their support.
Once again — as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the G7 Summit in France in June 2026 — the MEA statement emphasised on the need for maritime security. It said: “The continuing incidents of attacks on commercial shipping in the region are deeply worrisome. 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.”
The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea add yet another dimension to the ongoing America-Israel versus Iran conflict that began with the missile strike assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on February 28, 2026.
A Pakistan-mediated two-week ceasefire agreed upon between US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian did not stop the extended Middle East conflict. The 14-point Memorandum of Understanding was signed on June 18, 2026, but firing started from both sides soon afterwards. A July 9 report by CNN called it “the ceasefire that never was”.
For India, the biggest fallout of the conflict, apart from the complex diplomatic ramifications, has been the massive disruption in commercial shipping, with non-stop firing at the key oil corridor of the Strait of Hormuz (a narrow waterway between Iran and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula). Many Indian sailors have been killed in the ongoing conflict.
And now, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea (between the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the eastern coast of North Africa) become yet another maritime crisis for India.