"The Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata has taken 35 sea pirates into custody and is being brought to India along with the 17 crew members rescued after the major operation," officials said on Sunday.
The Indian warship INS Kolkata successfully cornered and coerced all 35 pirates to surrender on Saturday, ensuring the safe evacuation of 17 crew members from the pirate vessel without any injury, the Indian Navy said in an official statement.
The ex-MV Ruen, previously commandeered by Somali pirates on December 14, 2023, was reported to have reappeared as a pirate vessel, threatening merchant shipping in the high seas.
Indian Navy warships deployed in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are escorting both Indian and international merchant vessels there, were welcomed by a merchant vessel's crew by shouting slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai and they thanked the Indian Navy for its support.
Indian Navy swiftly responded to a distress call from Gulf of Aden where a merchant vessel caught fire after being hit by a missile, and rescued 21 crew members, including one Indian national.
An Indian warship, INS Kolkata on Monday responded to the distress call from a Liberian-flagged container vessel, MSC Sky II which was reportedly attacked by a drone or missile in the southeast of Aden, an official statement said.
According to the Indian Coast Guard, during the visit, the ships engaged with the Sri Lanka coast Guard on various professional interactions and joint training activities focusing on Marine Pollution Response, Maritime SAR, Maritime Law Enforcement, table top exercises and passage exercise a
According to US Central Command, the forces identified these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the US Navy and coalition ships in the region.
In a mega boost for the Indian Navy, the Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared the acquisition of over 200 BrahMos extended-range supersonic cruise missiles for deployment on its warships.