Indian Navy rescues Iranian vessel hijacked by pirates
INDIAN Navy's INS Sumitra has successfully rescued fishermen hijacked by pirates along the East coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.
The naval warship was responding to a distress message regarding hijacking of an Iranian-flagged Fishing Vessel (FV) Iman. The FV had been boarded by pirates and its 17-member crew was taken hostage.
“INS Sumitra intercepted the vessel, acted by the established SOPs to coerce the pirates for the safe release of the crew along with the boat & ensured the successful release of all 17 crew members along with the boat,” a statement by the Navy said. “The FV was subsequently sanitised and released for onward transit.”
The incident is the latest in a series of drone and pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the region, including the Red Sea and parts of the Arabian Sea.
The Indian navy has stepped up surveillance in the troubled region substantially and deployed task groups consisting of around 10 warships in the face of the recent attacks on India-bound merchant vessels.
Recently, Iran-backed Yemen's Houthi militia has been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with missiles and drones after the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7. The Houthi rebels declared their support for Hamas. Several shipping companies have suspended their operations in the Red Sea following the attacks, which have forced mariners to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa.
On Saturday, India’s guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam responded to a distress call made by a merchant vessel that caught fire after a missile attack by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, with the incident putting the spotlight on the worsening security situation in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, officials aware of the matter said.
The Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda was struck by the Houthi rebels on Friday. The vessel’s crew included 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi.
Another Marshall Islands-flagged merchant vessel, which was recently attacked by a drone in the Gulf of Aden, docked at the Tuticorin port in Tamil Nadu on Friday after the Indian Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists undertook a thorough examination of the ship and declared it safe for port entry.
On January 18, INS Visakhapatnam responded to a distress call made by MV Genco Picardy after it was attacked. It was carrying a crew of 22, including nine Indians.
The navy has stepped up surveillance in the troubled region substantially and deployed task groups consisting of around 10 warships in the face of the recent attacks on India-bound merchant vessels including MV Chem Pluto and MV Saibaba in December.
