Watch | Pakistani, Iranian crew thank Indian Navy for saving them from Somali pirates

On Tuesday, the Navy said it had rescued a crew of 19 Pakistani nationals from 11 Somali pirates in a successful operation on the hijacked fishing vessel Al Naeemi. The Navy’s INS Sumitra had carried out the anti-piracy operation which was the second in a span of 36 hours.

One of the rescued crew members said Somali pirates had hijacked their ship and kept them hostage. “The Somali pirates dropped weapons and tried to run away after seeing the Indian Navy coming, but were caught,” he said.

“Somali pirates had captured us in the morning. They were scared once they saw the Indian Navy and tried to flee, but were caught,” said another crew member.

#IndianNavy remains committed to #MaritimeSecurity in the #IndianOceanRegion, in keeping with @PMOIndia‘s vision of #SAGAR.

Indian Naval warships mission deployed in the #IOR are ensuring security against all #maritime threats, keeping our seas safe for mariners of all… pic.twitter.com/n2dAOg6jw6

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 31, 2024

The Indian Navy had earlier fired “warning shots” and carried out “aerial domination by ALH” to rescue Iranian-flagged fishing vessels FV Iman and Al Naeemi.

On January 29, INS Sumitra had thwarted a piracy attempt on the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel FV Iman, ensuring the safe release of the 17 crew members. The pirates had then boarded the vessel and taken the crew as hostages. After coercing the pirates to release the crew, the fishing vessel was sanitised and released for onward transit.