Around 800 miles off the coast of Kochi, the Indian Navy warship INS Sumitra saved the hijacked fishing vessel Al Naemi from Somali pirates in a significant mission. According to Indian Defense officials, the Al Naemi was successfully rescuing 19 Pakistani nationals while sailing off the east coast of Somalia.
Within 24 hours, the Indian Navy conducted its second rescue operation. In its anti-piracy operations along the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy rescued another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, the FV Iman, from Somali pirates onboarding 17 crew members.
The Marine Commandos of the Indian Navy participated in the effort to safely rescue the fishing boat’s crew. According to Indian Defense officials, “warships from the Indian Navy are deployed throughout the Indian Ocean region to provide safety and security in the area.”
The Indian Navy claimed that the warship INS Sumitra saved the hostages of 19 Pakistani nationals on board the fishing vessel after it was intercepted by pirates and action was taken to locate the distressed vessel.
The Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Iman sent out a distress message, prompting the Indian navy to send out its warship, INS Sumitra, which was on an anti-piracy patrol off the east coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.
The hijackings off the coast of Somalia, which coincide with an increase in attacks by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, have raised fears about a return of opportunistic pirates conducting raids in the Indian Ocean. Houthi gunmen have launched scores of attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeting Israeli-linked vessels in response to Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Since international naval forces have been redirected into the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden, there is concern that pirates will exploit the security gap, with the first successful case of Somali piracy since 2017 recorded in December.
The number of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked in 2011 when gunmen launched attacks up to 3,655 kilometres (2,270 miles) into the Indian Ocean. However, the attacks then sharply decreased when warships and commercial shipping deployed armed guards.