Industry Odisha Bureau, May 27: The prompt action of the Indian Navy has reportedly been successful in neutralizing a piracy attempt on a merchant vessel as well as ensuring its safety near the Gulf of Aden in the Western Indian Ocean.
The official post today on social media platform X by Spokesperson Navy captioned “Piracy attempt thwarted #INSKolkata” reads: “Responding swiftly to inputs of pirate activity near merchant vessel MV Mashallah 1 in the Western Indian Ocean, #INSKolkata undertook prompt action to investigate and deter the threat. This timely intervention ensured safety of the merchant vessel and prevented a possible piracy attack. As a #PreferredSecurityPartner and #FirstResponder in the region, #IndianNavy remains committed to safeguarding merchant shipping, countering piracy and ensuring safe and secure seas.”
Reportedly, the Indian Navy had also been successful earlier in such anti-piracy operations. A glaring instance is that of 2024’s 40-hour-long anti-piracy mission launched then against 35 Somali pirates who had hijacked a merchant vessel named MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea.
As per reports, the gang of 35 Somali pirates had held the hijacked merchant vessel captive for months together. However, this same INS Kolkata had been successful in tracking the hijacked MV Ruen based on Indian Navy’s surveillance intelligence and technical expertise following which INS Kolkata could consequently intercept the merchant vessel in trouble 260 nautical miles off Somalia coast and 1,400 nautical miles away from the India’s coast.
Reports also said that, the uphill task of Indian Navy’s 2024 anti-piracy mission had been carried out by additional warships, aircraft, marine commandos and drones of the Indian Navy. Even one naval drone deployed for the aerial surveillance had been downed by the Somali pirates. Finally, the well-calibrated 40-hour-long operation launched against the Somali pirates bore fruit that had witnessed disabling of the hijacked MV Reun’s navigational capabilities bringing the vessel to a grinding halt as well as the surrender of all the 35 Somali pirates.
