Indian Navy warship INS Sumitra carried out another anti-piracy operation in under 24 hours and rescued 19 crew members, all Pakistanis, from a fishing vessel which was hijacked by Somali pirates.
On Monday, INS Sumitra was rushed to rescue an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel which was also hijacked by Somali Pirates in the Arabian sea.
The second anti-piracy operation has also been conducted on an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, Al Naeemi, in the Arabian Sea which had been boarded by pirates, who took the crew hostage.
"Responding swiftly to the developing situation Sumitra intercepted the FV on PM 29 Jan 24 & through coercive posturing & effective deployment of her integral helo & boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel." Indian Navy said in a post on X.
"This rescue of hijacked vessels, through swift, persistent and relentless efforts by Mission Deployed #IndianNavy warship in the Southern Arabian Sea approx 850 nm West of Kochi, also prevents misuse of Fishing Vessels as Mother Ships for further acts of Piracy on Merchant Vessels," Indian Navy said.
On Monday, Iranian fishing vessel MV Iman with around 17 crew members was hijacked by Somali pirates 700 nautical miles west of Kochi in the Arabian Sea.
Giving details on the "swift response by Indian Navy's warship", the official account of the force said a distress message regarding hijacking of the Iranian-flagged Fishing Vessel (FV) Iman was received, adding that the vessel was boarded by pirates and the crew taken hostage.
INS Sumitra intercepted the vessel, "acted in accordance with the established SOPs to coerce the pirates for safe release of crew along with the boat and ensured successful release of all 17 crew members along with the boat. The FV was subsequently sanitised and released for onward transit," the Indian Navy said.
On January 18, Indian Navy's warship INS Visakhapatnam responded to a drone attack on a merchant vessel 60 nautical miles South of Port Aden. The attack of "bomb-carrying" drones was carried out by Houthi rebels in response to the US and UK strikes, reports said.
