Indian Navy ship Sumitra conducted another successful anti-piracy operation off the east coast of Somalia, this time rescuing 19 Pakistani nationals from pirates aboard an Iranian fishing vessel on Monday.
INS Sumitra, an indigenous coastal patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, has been deployed for anti-piracy and maritime security operations east of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. On Sunday, it responded to an emergency report regarding the hijacking of the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Iman, which had been boarded by pirates and the crew taken hostage.
While the ship with its 17 Iranian crew was successfully rescued, INS Sumitra was again pressed into action to locate and intercept another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, Al Naeemi, which had been boarded by pirates and its crew of 19 Pakistani nationals taken hostage.
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Sumitra responded quickly, intercepted the FV Monday and through the effective deployment of its integrated helicopter and boats, forced the safe release of the crew and vessel, the Navy said in a statement.
It added that the ship also carried out confirmatory boarding to carry out disinfection and also check the well-being of the crew held captive by the Somali pirates.
In less than 36 hours, INS Sumitra rescued two hijacked fishing vessels with 36 crew (17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani) in the South Arabian Sea, approximately 850 nm west of Kochi, through swift and tireless efforts, and prevented these fishing vessels from being misused as motherships for other acts of piracy on merchant vessels, the Navy said.
Along with the resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, the Yemen-based Houthis’ attacks on maritime trade have forced at least 12 warships to be deployed in the region.
