Another successful anti-piracy mission in Indian ocean by Navy

All vessels sailing through Arabian Sea are being thoroughly scanned to check piracy that have impacted maritime trade, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said two days after completion of successful ‘Operation Sankalp’ on Saturday.

• Also read: Joint armed force operation busts pirate ship in Indian ocean

A 40-hour long high tempo operation 2,600 km away from the Indian coast, that saw Indian Navy air dropping its elite Marcos commandos and two combat rubberised raiding craft for the final assault, led to the surrender of 35 armed Somalian pirates who had hijacked merchant vessel MV Ruen last December and was using it for piracy since then.

The Operation Sankalp was also a reflection of the jointness of armed forces as the Indian Navy took the help of Indian Air Force’s C-17 heavy airlift aircraft to airdrop Marcos commandos for the final critical action.

Suspicious vessels

“This is an ongoing operation. For a long time, since 2008, we have been having a presence in anti-piracy operations. But this piracy suddenly resurfaced about three or four months back. Since then we have put more ships there. We are investigating all suspicious vessels which have a piracy trigger.... So while doing this, we came across this MV Ruin which was being used as a pirate mothership. So we deployed our ships, they stopped the ship and then convinced them to surrender. So the pirated surrendered, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Monday.

All the 17 crew on board -- 7 from Bulgaria, one from Mongolia and 9 from Myanmar -- are safe and the ship is now being sent back to its next port of call, the Admiral stated.

Sharing details of the operation, the Indian Navy on Sunday stated that, based on the analysis of the surveillance information, the movement of the pirate ship Ruen was tracked and warship INS Kolkata deployed in Arabian Sea was directed to engage the ship approximately 260 nautical miles East of Somalia. The INS Kolkata intercepted Ruen in the morning of March 15 and confirmed the presence of armed pirates through a ship-launched HALE remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). In a reckless hostile act, the pirates shot down the drone and fired at the Indian Naval warship.

The Navy retaliated and disabled the ship’s steering system and navaids, forcing it to stop.

INS Kolkata

“INS Kolkata undertook precisely measured actions while maintaining her position close to the pirate ship and also engaged in forceful negotiations, which resulted in the pirates surrendering and releasing the pirate ship MV Ruen and its original crew present onboard,” the Indian Navy said.

The efforts of the Indian Navy in the ongoing anti-piracy operation 1400 nm (2600 km) from mainland India were augmented by the deployment of INS Subhadra in the area on Satuday monring, and also by air-dropping of the Marine Commandos (PRAHARS) by C-17 aircraft in the same afternoon. Additionally, the pirate vessel was kept under surveillance by HALE RPA and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

The Indian Navy stated that due to sustained pressure and calibrated actions by the Indian Navy over the last 40 hours, all 35 Somali pirates surrendered on March 16 evening. All 17 original crew members of MV Ruen were also safely evacuated from the pirate vessel without any injury.

The vessel has also been sanitised for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition and contraband.

The culmination of the ongoing anti-piracy operation involving Ruen in the southern Indian Ocean Region highlights the commitment of the Indian Navy towards reinforcing peace and stability, and also to thwart the resurgence of piracy in the region.

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