According to a navy representative, Indian naval forces as well as special commandos have apprehended a cargo vessel that had been hijacked by Somali pirates and saved 17 crew members.
In a post on the social media platform X, the navy informed that all 35 pirates on the vessel the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo MV Ruen had been apprehended, and the ship had been checked to see if there was ammunition, illegal arms, and contraband.
Late last year, the MV Ruen was hijacked and the navy said it first intercepted the vessel on Friday.
The navy said that the pirates onboard the vessel have been called upon to surrender and release the vessel and any civilians they may be held against their will and the Indian navy remains dedicated to maritime security and safety of seafarers in the county.
The European Union naval force said that last week, the vessel may have been used as the base for the takeover of a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia.
In December, the hijacking of the Ruen was the first successful takeover of a vessel involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
For a decade, Somali pirates have caused chaos in important global waterways but had been inactive until a resurgence of attacks starting late last year.
India has installed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to provide security against pirates since Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
After a recent spate of attacks in the region, the subcontinent’s navy has also increased its surveillance of the Arabian Sea.
In January, the navy saved all crew members from a Liberian-flagged merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea.
Since the first of December, at least 17 incidents of hijacking, attempted hijacking, and suspicious methods have been recorded by the Indian Navy.
According to the information from the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre, in December, the Indian Ocean Region showed that there was a minimum of three hijackings.
