Indian Navy Rescues 19 Pakistani Crew From Ship Hijacked By Somali Pirates

Indian Navy’s INS Sumitra ensured the safe and secure release of a fishing vessel flying the flag of Iran and its 19 Pakistani national crew members on Monday. The fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates off Somalia’s East coast, per officials. The Indian Navy promptly responded to a distress call sent out by the vessel, they informed.

INS Sumitra, deployed on anti-piracy missions along the east coast of Somalia and the waters of the Gulf of Aden, swiftly responded to a distress call concerning the hijacking of an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel dubbed Iman, Vivek Madhwal, an Indian Navy spokesperson Commander reported.

The pirates and crew members who boarded the fishing vessel were captured as hostages, he explained. The vessel was subsequently sanitized and released for transit. Mission-deployed naval vessels (belonging to India) on anti-piracy and maritime security missions in the Indian Ocean region reflect India’s Navy’s resolve toward the security and safety of vessels and seafarers at sea, Madhwal mentioned.

#INSSumitra Carries out 2nd Successful #AntiPiracy Ops – Rescuing 19 Crew members & Vessel from Somali Pirates.
Having thwarted the Piracy attempt on FV Iman, the warship has carried out another successful anti-piracy ops off the East Coast of Somalia, rescuing Fishing Vessel Al… https://t.co/QZz9bCihaU pic.twitter.com/6AonHw51KX

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 30, 2024

Image Credits: Indian Navy/Twitter

The response by India’s Navy to the incident came two days after INS Visakhapatnam successfully extinguished a fire on a commercial oil tanker that had 22 Indian crew members when a missile in the waters of the Gulf of Aden struck the vessel. The Indian Navy reportedly deployed the missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam to aid the vessel that received a distress call on Friday night. The US Central Command (abbreviated the CENTCOM) had informed that the Marshall Islands-flagged MV Marlin Luanda was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile that the Houthi militants fired.

The Navy on 5 January thwarted a hijacking of the Liberian-flagged MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea and then rescued the crew members. Liberian-flagged MV Chem Pluto, with 21 crew members from India, was the prime target of a drone attack off the west coast of India on 23 December.

Besides MV Chem Pluto, yet another commercial oil tanker, which was sailing to India, came under an alleged drone strike in the waters of the Southern Red Sea on the very same day. The vessel had 25 Indian crew members. The Navy has boosted the deployment of frontline ships and surveillance aircraft to ensure maritime security operations in the light of the current marine environment in crucial sea lanes, including in the Central and North Arabian Sea.

Reference: NDTV, Business Standard

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