Indian Navy rescues 23 Pakistanis from Somali pirates in Arabian Sea

The Indian Navy yesterday rescued a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel and its 23 Pakistani crew after more than 12 hours of “intense coercive tactical measures” as part of an anti-piracy operation on the Arabian Sea.

The Navy spokesman in a post on X late last night said, “Inputs received on a potential piracy incident onboard Iranian fishing vessel ‘Al-Kambar’ late on the evening of March 28 (Thursday) about 90 nautical miles south West of Socotra near the Port of Aden.”

Two Indian navy warships, which were deployed in the Arabian Sea for maritime security operations, were diverted to intercept the hijacked vessel which reportedly had nine armed pirates on board, our New Delhi correspondent reports quoting the spokesman.

The Indian Navy said its warship INS Sumedha intercepted “Al Kambar” in the early hours yesterday and was joined subsequently by the guided missile frigate INS Trishul.

After more than 12 hours of “intense coercive tactical measures” as per the standard operating procedure, the pirates on board the hijacked FV were forced to surrender, the spokesman added.

“The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, have been safely rescued,” he said.

The Indian naval specialist teams undertook sanitisation and seaworthiness checks of the vessel in order to escort it to a safe area for resuming normal fishing activities, according to the Navy’s spokesperson.

This was the latest in a series of stepped-up anti-piracy operations carried out by the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea and off the east coast of Somalia as part of its “Operation Sankalp”.

Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar had recently said India, as the largest resident naval power in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), will continue to take action against the threats posed by piracy and drone attacks to ensure the region remains safe, secure and stable.

The scaled-up naval deployments by India since December last have involved over 5,000 personnel at sea, with 21 warships and 900 hours of flying by maritime surveillance aircraft to neutralize the threats in the region.