Bulgarian prez conveys gratitude to President Murmu for Navy’s rescue of hijacked vessel

On March 16, 35 Somali pirates onboard the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel surrendered and all 17 crew members were safely evacuated.

By: Express Web Desk

Pune | March 20, 2024 04:48 PM IST

MV Ruen Bulgaria Somali pirates Indian Navy

Op Sankalp was carried out to rescue crew of bulk carrier vessel MV Ruen. (PTI)

President Droupadi Murmu received a telephone call from her Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev to convey his gratitude for the Indian Navy’s rescue of the hijacked Bulgarian Vessel MV Ruen and its crew, which included seven Bulgarian nationals.

On March 16, 35 Somali pirates onboard the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel surrendered after “sustained pressure” and calibrated actions by the Indian Navy for 40 hours and all 17 crew members were safely evacuated from the vessel without any injury.

The Somali pirates had hijacked the ship in December last year and had been using the bulk cargo vessel to hijack other vessels transiting through the region. The Indian Navy on Saturday intercepted Bulgarian Vessel MV Ruen around 2,600 kilometres from the Indian coast in a massive operation involving drones, navy vessels and marine commandos, and brought back the captured pirates to India for trials.

This is the first in recent times when pirates have been taken into custody and brought back to India for trials.

In January and February, the Navy had foiled a series of piracy incidents, rescuing several Iranian and Pakistani nationals who were part of the crew.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier on Tuesday assured Radev that the seven Bulgarian nationals rescued from the hijacked ship by the Indian Navy are safe and will be returning to their country soon.

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