40 hours of anti-piracy op: Indian Navy getting back 35 Somali pirates and cargo worth over a million dollars

After sustained pressure and “calibrated actions” by the Navy for 40 hours on Friday and Saturday, all 35 Somali pirates surrendered on Saturday evening. All 17 crew members of MV Ruen were also safely evacuated from the pirate vessel without any injury.

As per the Navy, the vessel has also been sanitised for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition, and contraband. “The seaworthiness of MV Ruen will be assessed in the morning Sunday and the vessel which is carrying approximately 37,800 T of cargo worth more than one million dollars will be brought safely to India,” it said.

Marine commandos, drones, reconnaissance aircraft

According to the Navy, it tracked the movement of Ruen and directed its mission-deployed warship INS Kolkata to intercept the ship approximately 260 nautical miles east of Somalia after it analysed the surveillance information. However, when INS Kolkata intercepted Ruen on Friday morning and confirmed the presence of armed pirates through a ship-launched drone, the pirates shot down the drone and fired at the warship. In a calibrated response and following the law of the sea, INS Kolkata then disabled the ship’s steering system and navaids, forcing the pirate ship to stop.

Without detailing the subsequent actions, the Navy said in a statement that INS Kolkata undertook “precisely measured actions” while maintaining her position close to the pirate ship and engaged in forceful negotiations in an area 1400 nautical miles (2,600 km) from off the Indian coast.

INS Kolkata was supported in the operation by patrol vessel INS Subhadra and also by Marine Commandos (PRAHARS) who were airdropped by a C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Saturday afternoon. Additionally, the pirate vessel was kept under surveillance by remotely-piloted High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

The latest anti-piracy operation was significant given that the pirates opened fire at the Indian naval warship and shot down a drone launched by the Navy. This is also the first in recent times when pirates have been taken into custody and brought back to India for trials.

It is also the latest in a series of piracy incidents in the region. 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.

Piracy incidents had gone down in the last few years but have picked up since December last year.

As per data shared in Parliament, seven incidents of hijacking of vessels on high seas by pirates have been reported during the last three years. The government had informed Parliament that the Navy has been proactively engaging with the regional and extra-regional navies/ maritime forces, to promote maritime security.

Since 2008, the Indian Navy has deployed units in the Gulf of Aden and the East Coast of Africa towards anti-piracy patrols and a total of 3,440 ships and over 25,000 seafarers have been safely escorted as per official data.