The Indian Navy on Friday mentioned it was responding to the tried hijacking by pirates of a Liberian-flagged cargo vessel within the Arabian Sea, some 460 nautical miles off the Somali coast.
The 21 crew members on the ship, of which 15 had been Indians, had been rescued by Indian commandos who boarded the vessel earlier on Friday, the Navy mentioned.
5 or 6 armed people had boarded the ship on Thursday.
“The try of hijacking by the pirates was most likely deserted with the forceful warning by the Indian Navy, marine patrol plane, of interception by an Indian Naval warship,” the Indian Navy mentioned.
India deployed a number of ships to the waters final month and the hassle to grab the vessel is barely the most recent in a sequence of assaults on industrial vessels within the area.
What we all know to date
A press release from the Indian Navy mentioned it had “responded swiftly to a maritime incident within the Arabian Sea involving a hijacking try” of the majority service ship.
It mentioned the INS Chennai — a stealth-guided missile destroyer — had been despatched to the scene.
Whereas the navy didn’t establish the vessel, media studies say it was the MV Lila Norfolk, and about 15 Indian crew members are believed to be aboard the ship.
The ship raised the alert with a message on the portal of the UK Maritime Commerce Operations, a corporation that screens service provider delivery, on Thursday night.
The Indian naval assertion mentioned 5 to 6 unknown armed personnel had boarded the vessel.
Naval officers didn’t specify whether or not hijackers had been at present in command of the ship, though an overhead patrol flight had verified that the crew appeared secure on Friday morning.
Elevated hazard on busy routes
India’s bolstering of anti-piracy efforts comes after Somali pirates hijacked the majority service MV Ruen in December.
The navy mentioned earlier this week that it had investigated numerous fishing vessels within the North and Central Arabian Sea, and that it had boarded some vessels deemed to be “of curiosity.”
“India performs the function of a web safety supplier in the complete Indian Ocean area. We’ll be sure that maritime commerce on this area rises from the ocean to the heights of the sky,” Protection Minister Rajnath Singh mentioned final month.
The reemergence of Somali piracy comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen goal industrial ships within the Pink Sea, disrupting visitors headed for the Suez Canal.
Assaults by Somali pirates on vessels had been at a peak between 2010 and 2015, however they’ve declined drastically since, amid patrols by US and different allied naval forces.
Nonetheless, consultants say that the elevated consideration given to Houthi assaults within the Pink Sea has diverted US-led anti-piracy efforts, encouraging pirates to resume their assaults.
rc/nm (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
