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NEW DELHI: Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued hijacked Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Al Naeemi and her 19-member Pakistani crew on the east coast of Somalia late on Monday night, thwarting the second such piracy within 36 hours, even as the Indian Navy also helped Seychelles and Sri Lanka intercept a third hijacked vessel in the region.
Referring to the Navy’s swift action in rescuing several merchant vessels hijacked by pirates or hit by drone attacks in recent days, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said India’s “greater capability, our own interest and reputation today warrant that we actually help in difficult situations” in the region.
“We will not be considered a responsible country if bad things are happening around our neighbourhood and we say I have got nothing to do with this…People look at us much more warmly and friendly as a result of what we do now,” Jaishankar said in Mumbai on Tuesday.
India has independently deployed an unprecedented 10-12 frontline warships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden, amid the escalating attacks by Houthi rebels of Yemen and Somali pirates that have disrupted maritime trade between Europe and Asia over the last few months, as was first reported by TOI.
INS Sumita, a 2,200-tonne offshore patrol vessel deployed for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, had intercepted hijacked Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Iman and ensured the safe release of her 17-member Iranian crew late on Sunday.
This action on the high seas had just about finished when INS Sumitra had to respond to yet another distress call, this time from AL Naeemi. Swiftly intercepting the vessel, the warship through “coercive posturing” and deployment of her helicopter and boats with marine commandos “compelled the safe release of the crew and their ship”, Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
The marine commandos undertook “confirmatory boarding” of Al Naeemi to “sanitise” the vessel as well as check on the well-being of the Pakistani crew taken hostage by 11 Somali pirates, who were apprehended.
“INS Sumitra through swift, persistent and relentless efforts rescued two hijacked fishing vessels along with 36 crew (17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani) within 36 hours in the southern Arabian Sea, approximately 850 nautical miles west of Kochi. The action also prevented the misuse of the hijacked fishing vessels as `mother ships’ for further acts of piracy,” Commander Madhwal said.
In the third incident, the Indian Navy collaborated with the Seychelles Defence Forces and Sri Lanka Navy in the successful interception and rescue of hijacked Sri Lankan-flagged fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha-04 and her six-member crew around 955 nautical miles east of Mogadishu on Monday.
After three pirates hijacked the trawler on Saturday, India had deployed patrol vessel INS Sharada from Kochi as well as the unarmed MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones to locate the vessel.
There was also effective operational coordination and information-sharing with Sri Lanka and Seychelles through their international liaison officers posted at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram.
“All this helped in intercepting the hijacked vessel by Seychelles Coast Guard ship Topaz on Monday. The three pirates surrendered, and all crew members are safe. The vessel is being escorted to Mahe, Seychelles,” said an official.
Referring to the Navy’s swift action in rescuing several merchant vessels hijacked by pirates or hit by drone attacks in recent days, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said India’s “greater capability, our own interest and reputation today warrant that we actually help in difficult situations” in the region.
“We will not be considered a responsible country if bad things are happening around our neighbourhood and we say I have got nothing to do with this…People look at us much more warmly and friendly as a result of what we do now,” Jaishankar said in Mumbai on Tuesday.
India has independently deployed an unprecedented 10-12 frontline warships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden, amid the escalating attacks by Houthi rebels of Yemen and Somali pirates that have disrupted maritime trade between Europe and Asia over the last few months, as was first reported by TOI.
INS Sumita, a 2,200-tonne offshore patrol vessel deployed for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, had intercepted hijacked Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Iman and ensured the safe release of her 17-member Iranian crew late on Sunday.
This action on the high seas had just about finished when INS Sumitra had to respond to yet another distress call, this time from AL Naeemi. Swiftly intercepting the vessel, the warship through “coercive posturing” and deployment of her helicopter and boats with marine commandos “compelled the safe release of the crew and their ship”, Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
The marine commandos undertook “confirmatory boarding” of Al Naeemi to “sanitise” the vessel as well as check on the well-being of the Pakistani crew taken hostage by 11 Somali pirates, who were apprehended.
“INS Sumitra through swift, persistent and relentless efforts rescued two hijacked fishing vessels along with 36 crew (17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani) within 36 hours in the southern Arabian Sea, approximately 850 nautical miles west of Kochi. The action also prevented the misuse of the hijacked fishing vessels as `mother ships’ for further acts of piracy,” Commander Madhwal said.
In the third incident, the Indian Navy collaborated with the Seychelles Defence Forces and Sri Lanka Navy in the successful interception and rescue of hijacked Sri Lankan-flagged fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha-04 and her six-member crew around 955 nautical miles east of Mogadishu on Monday.
After three pirates hijacked the trawler on Saturday, India had deployed patrol vessel INS Sharada from Kochi as well as the unarmed MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones to locate the vessel.
There was also effective operational coordination and information-sharing with Sri Lanka and Seychelles through their international liaison officers posted at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram.
“All this helped in intercepting the hijacked vessel by Seychelles Coast Guard ship Topaz on Monday. The three pirates surrendered, and all crew members are safe. The vessel is being escorted to Mahe, Seychelles,” said an official.
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