Indian Navy rescued 23 Pakistani nationals from Somali pirates during a 12-hour-long-Arabian Sea operation on Friday. The incident occurred when Indian Navy warship INS Sumedha caught the hijacked vessel ‘FV A1-Kambar’ during the early hours of March 29, ANI reported.
INS Trishul swiftly joined the INS Sumedha to bolster the operation. They insisted the pirates surrender without a fight by starting negotiations with them. With the surrender, the Indian Navy achieved a resounding victory in the fight against piracy and preserved the security of maritime operations in the area.
After the pirates were apprehended successfully, Indian Naval specialists boarded the FV Al-Kambar to perform extensive sanitization and seaworthiness inspections, aiming to guarantee the safety of the ship before guiding it to a safe location so that its crew could resume their regular fishing operations.
The Indian Navy on Friday evening diverted two naval ships to intercept the hijacked vessel while responding to a possible piracy attack on an Iranian fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea.
After getting the information, two Indian Naval ships were deployed for maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea to seize the hijacked fishing vessel, as per ANI reports.
During the incident, nine armed pirates reportedly boarded the Iranian vessel, which was located about 90 nautical miles southwest of Socotra. The hijacked fishing vessel was caught on March 29.
In an official statement, the Indian Navy said, “We remain committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and safety of seafarers, irrespective of nationalities.”
It is pertinent to note that the Indian Navy has carried out several high-octane operations against piracy attacks including the latest one during the early days of March. The navy intercepted the under-attack pirate ship, Ruen, sailing almost 2600 km from the shores of the Indian Coast, and forced the pirate ship to stop through calibrated actions.
(With ANI inputs)
