Indian Navy rescues 17 crew from hijacked ship after 40-hour long operation

The Indian Navy successfully forced 35 pirates to surrender and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members from a merchant ship, located approximately 1,400 nautical miles away from the Indian coast, according to officials.

The Navy used its P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, frontline ships INS Kolkata and INS Subhadra, and a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle in the operation. The MARCOS commandos were air-dropped by a C-17 aircraft.

Previously, the Navy had thwarted attempts by a group of Somali pirates to hijack ships off the east coast of Somalia. The pirates had set sail in a cargo ship named Ruen, which had been hijacked about three months ago. Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal stated that the INS Kolkata had, over the past 40 hours, successfully cornered the pirates, forced them to surrender, and ensured the safe evacuation of the crew members.

The vessel MV Ruen was hijacked by Somali pirates on December 14 last year and was suspected of being used for acts of piracy on the high seas.

The Indian Navy recently reported that pirates fired upon one of its warships. In response, the warship acted in self-defence under international law and used minimal force to neutralise the threat to shipping and seafarers. The pirates onboard were urged to surrender, release the vessel, and any civilians they might be holding hostage.

Assistance was extended to a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo vessel by an Indian warship and a long-range maritime patrol aircraft after it was hijacked last Friday. The safety of the crew was ascertained, and the Indian warship continued to maintain its presence near the vessel until it reached Somalia's territorial waters.

In the past few weeks, the Indian Navy has assisted several merchant vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following attacks. Earlier this month, the Navy thwarted a piracy attempt on an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with a crew of 11 Iranian and eight Pakistani nationals off the East coast of Somalia.

In January, Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued 19 Pakistani crew of a fishing vessel after pirates on the east coast of Somalia attacked their Iranian-flagged fishing vessel.

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