In third successful operation in 3 days, Indian Navy rescues Sri Lankan vessel hijacked by Somali pirates

A hijacking incident was reported on board the Sri Lankan-flagged multi-day fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha 04 about 955 nm east of Mogadishu, Somalia. Three pirates boarded and hijacked the fishing trawler on January 27. The Navy deployed the INS Sharda on January 28 and tasked HALE Sea Guardian with locating and intercepting the hijacked fishing vessel.

“Additionally, efficient operational coordination and information sharing through the Sri Lanka and Seychelles international liaison officers at the Information Fusion Centre, Indian Ocean Region, New Delhi, resulted in the interception of the hijacked fishing vessel by SCGS Topaz in Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone on 29 January,” the Navy said in a statement.

This is the Navy’s third successful anti-piracy operation in the last three days.

Earlier in the day, the Navy said that it had rescued a crew of 19 Pakistani nationals from 11 Somali pirates in an operation on a hijacked fishing vessel, Al Naeemi. On Monday, the INS Sumitra thwarted a piracy attempt on Iranian-flagged fishing vessel FV Iman, ensuring the safe release of its 17 crew members.

The incident is the latest among a series of maritime incidents—both piracy and missile or drone attacks on commercial vessels—in the Arabian Sea since December last year. Last week, a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, Marlin Luanda, came under a missile attack.

About 10-12 warships are currently deployed in the Arabian Sea, including the INS Kochi, INS Mormugao, INS Kolkata, INS Chennai and a Talwar-class frigate. The Navy’s P8I maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9B predator drones and Dornier aircraft are also carrying out enhanced surveillance of the region and the force is involved in active investigation of vessels in the Arabian Sea, including boarding of dhows.