Indian Navy thwarts another piracy attempt off Somalia coast; rescues Iranian, Pakistani nationals

New Delhi: The Indian Navy has thwarted yet another piracy attempt in the Arabian Sea in the east coast of Somalia when its patrolling vessel INS Sharda intercepted an Iranian fishing vessel and forced the pirates to release the crew and the boat.

The navy received information on the piracy attempt on January 31 following which an unmanned aerial vehicle on board the ship undertook surveillance of the ocean. A day later FV Omari was located.

“INS Sharda intercepted the vessel in early hours of Feb 2 and used the integral helicopter and boats to coerce the pirates for safe release of crew along with the vessel,” an Indian Navy spokesperson said. Seven pirates boarded the boat and took the crew hostage.

The ship has ensured successful release of the crew (11 Iranian and 8 Pakistani) members along with the boat. The patrol vessel also undertook confirmatory boarding on FV Omari to sanitise and check on the well-being of the crew who had been held captive by the Somali pirates.

The Indian Navy has deployed more than ten warships in the Arabian Sea, stretching up to the Gulf of Aden and east coast of Somalia following a rise in piracy attempts in the western sea board in the wake of the Red Sea crisis.

Multiple strikes by Somalian pirates in recent weeks have stoked the fear of resurgence of sea bandits after a large part of the global naval assets patrolling the Gulf of Aden, in the Red Sea in the wake of drone and rocket attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial cargo.

Eight incidents of hijacking of vessels on the high seas by the pirates have been reported during the last three years, but the majority of them took place in the last two months. One of the hijacked vessels MV Lila Norfolk had 15 Indian nationals among 21 crew members.

Since 2008, Indian Navy has deployed units in the Gulf of Aden and East Coast of Africa towards anti-piracy patrols, safely escorting 3,440 ships and over 25,000 seafarers.

“For restoring maritime security in the region, enhanced presence of ships, aerial surveillance by maritime patrol aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft in the central Arabian Sea and east coast of Somalia is being undertaken by the Indian Navy,” Ajay Bhatt, the Minister of State for Defence informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

"Due to the ongoing maritime security situation in the region, Indian Navy units are being deployed off Djibouti/ Gulf of Aden, in the north/ central Arabian Sea/ off east coast of Somalia for protection of merchant vessels and rendering assistance,” the minister said.