Navy deploys warships to thwart piracy bid of Iranian vessel in Arabian sea

The Indian Navy on Friday launched an anti-piracy operation and deployed two naval warships to intercept.

And thwart a hijacking bid of an Iranian fishing vessel ‘Al Kamar 786’, which was intercepted approximately 90 nocturnal miles South West of Yemen’s Socotra island in the Arabian Sea.

According to the information shared by the Indian Navy, the inputs of the potential piracy attack of the Iranian vessel with crew, which is likely to be Pakistani, were received late evening on Thursday, while it was intercepted on Friday. It was reported that the fishing vessel was boarded by nine armed pirates.

“Inputs received on a potential piracy incident onboard Iranian Fishing Vessel ‘Al Kamar 786’ late evening on #28Mar 24, approx 90 nm South West of Socotra. The hijacked FV has been intercepted on #29Mar 24,” the Indian navy spokesperson said in a post on X.

As soon as the inputs of the attack were received, the Indian Navy responded to it and diverted two naval warships which were deployed for maritime security operations, to intercept the hijacked fishing vessel.

“Two Indian Naval ships, mission deployed in #ArabianSea for #maritimesecurityoperations were diverted to intercept the hijacked FV, reported to have been boarded by nine armed pirates. The operation is currently underway by the Indian Navy towards rescue of hijacked FV & its crew,” the post added.

“Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and the safety of seafarers, irrespective of their nationalities,” it said.

The operation to rescue the crew and vessel is currently underway.

The piracy attack involving the Iranian vessel adds to the list of recent piracy attacks reported in the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Earlier this month, the naval force responded to a distress call from a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo vessel hijacked off the Somali coast during its voyage from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In another development, the Navy, along with the IAF, held 35 pirates off the coast of Somalia and ended a three-month hijacking of a bulk carrier with the deployment of warship INS Kolkata, long-endurance Sea Guardian drones, P-8I surveillance aircraft and airdropping of elite MARCOS commandos from a C-17 plane.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar earlier vowed to ensure the safety of the Indian Ocean region while citing the anti-piracy operations undertaken by the naval force in the last 100 days.

Admiral Kumar said the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022, has been a “great enabler” for security forces, especially the Indian Navy, which is involved in anti-piracy operations. He recently said the Navy had gotten a shot in the arm because of this legislation and underlined the deployment to counter-piracy attempts.