Indian Navy warships were dispatched on Thursday to track a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea, with the navy confirming interception on Friday, according to a navy statement.
The vessel, named ‘Al Kambar 786’, was reportedly hijacked by nine armed pirates around 90 nautical miles southwest of Socotra.
Indian Naval ships on maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea were redirected to intercept the hijacked fishing vessel upon receiving the piracy incident alert.
The Indian Navy is currently engaged in an operation to rescue the hijacked vessel and its crew.
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This development follows the recent apprehension by the navy of 35 Somali pirates and the successful evacuation of 17 crew members from the hijacked vessel Ruen. The operation, which lasted 40 hours, involved elite marine commandos being air-dropped from C-17 aircraft approximately 1,400 nautical miles from the country’s shores.
Key assets involved in the operation included INS Kolkata, INS Subhadra, Sea Guardian remotely piloted aircraft, and P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.
The 35 pirates were handed over to Mumbai police on March 23.
The Indian Navy reiterated its commitment to ensuring maritime security in the region and the safety of seafarers, regardless of nationality.
With over 10 warships deployed in the region, the Indian Navy has thwarted numerous piracy attempts in and around the Arabian Sea in the past 100 days. It has also responded to distress calls from merchant ships targeted by missiles and drones launched by the Houthis.
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Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar stated on March 23 that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have targeted no Indian-flagged vessel. However, the navy remains deployed in the western Indian Ocean region amid ongoing volatility until normalcy is restored.
In the past 100-plus days, 21 Indian warships have been deployed, with around 5,000 naval personnel at sea and 900 hours of flying conducted by maritime surveillance aircraft. The navy has conducted nearly 1,000 boarding operations on the high seas and is conducting maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and off the Somali coast.
