Indian Navy Rescues 19 Pakistani Crew From Hijacked Vessel In Arabian Sea

Indian Navy Rescues 19 Pakistani Crew From Hijacked Vessel In Arabian Sea

The Indian Navy’s warship INS Sumitra saved 19 crew members and a ship from armed Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea in its second successful operation against piracy, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The INS Sumitra stopped the pirate attack on the FV Iman off the east coast of Somalia. It also saved the fishing boat Al Naeemi and 19 Pakistanis from 11 Somali pirates, according to a spokesman on social media X (formally X).

The operation happened after the INS Sumitra safely saved the Iranian-flagged fishing boat Iman from Somali pirates on Sunday night. The ship had 17 crew members on board and was on patrol along the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden to stop piracy.

The Indian Navy said that its warship INS Sumitra intercepted the ship and moved in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs) to force the pirates to free the crew and the boat safely. The crew and the boat were all freed successfully.

The Indian Navy said on Tuesday that after saving MV Iman, INS Sumitra was called upon to find and stop another Iranian-flagged FV that had been seized by pirates and whose crew had been taken hostage.

As things were getting worse, the INS Sumitra quickly “intercepted the FV on PM 29 Jan 24 and through coercive posturing and effective deployment of her integral helo and boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel.”

“This rescue of hijacked vessels was made possible by the quick, persistent, and unwavering efforts of a Mission Deployed Indian Navy warship in the Southern Arabian Sea, about 850 nautical miles west of Kochi. This also stops the use of fishing vessels as mother ships for more acts of piracy on merchant vessels,” the statement said.

A navy warship frees an Iranian fishing boat that was taken hostage.
When the ship sent out an emergency call on Sunday night, the Indian Navy quickly came to help. “INS Sumitra, which was on anti-piracy duty along the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, responded to a distress call about the hijacking of the fishing boat Iman, which was flying the Iranian flag,” said Vivek Madhwal, a spokesman for the Indian Navy.

Madhwal said that pirates had taken over the fishing boat and were holding the crew hostage.

After that, the ship was cleaned and given permission to continue its journey.

“Mission deployed Indian naval ships on anti-piracy and maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean region symbolises the Indian Navy’s resolve towards the safety of all vessels and seafarers at sea,” a spokesperson said.

Following two days of putting out a fire on a commercial oil tanker with 22 Indian crew members after it was hit by a missile in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy responded to the new event. After getting an emergency call from the ship on Friday night, the Indian Navy sent its missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam to help.

CENTCOM, the US Central Command, said that missiles fired by Houthi rebels backed by Iran hit the MV Marlin Luanda, a ship flying the flag of the Marshall Islands.

On January 5, the Indian Navy stopped a plot to take over the Liberian-flagged ship MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea and saved all of its crew members.

Someone used a drone to attack the Liberian-flagged ship MV Chem Pluto, which had 21 Indian crew members on board on December 23.

Besides the MV Chem Pluto, another oil ship on its way to India was also hit by what was thought to be a drone in the Southern Red Sea on the same day. The ship had 25 Indian crew members.

Because of the dangerous sea conditions in the north and central Arabian Sea and other important sea lanes, the Indian Navy has already increased the use of its frontline ships and surveillance aircraft for maritime security activities.

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