3-month ordeal over, Navy seizes hijacked ship
The Navy said after it confirmed the presence of armed pirates onboard the vessel MV Ruen through a ship-launched drone, the drone was shot down by the pirates on March 15.
Indian Navy commandos, called MARCOS, With the surrendered pirates
NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy executed a dramatic mid-sea operation ending a three-month hijacking of a bulk carrier with the deployment of its warship INS Kolkata, long-endurance Sea Guardian drones, P-8I surveillance aircraft and airdropping of elite MARCOS commandos from a C-17 plane.
The Navy seized the former Maltese-flagged vessel, rescued 17 hostages and captured 35 armed pirates in the nearly 40-hour operation around 2,600 km from the Indian coast that experts say was the first such successful takeover of a cargo ship from the Somali pirates in the last around seven years.
The merchant vessel Ruen was seized by the Somali pirates on December 14 off the coast of Somalia. A brief video of the anti-piracy operation ‘Sankalp’ showed the pirates trying to use the hostages as human shields.
The Navy said after it confirmed the presence of armed pirates onboard the vessel MV Ruen through a ship-launched drone, the drone was shot down by the pirates on March 15.
Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel and crew members, including seven nationals of her country. Responding to Gabriel’s post on ‘X’, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “That’s what friends are for.”
The Navy said MV Ruen’s seaworthiness is being assessed and the vessel carrying approximately 37,800 tonnes of cargo worth around USD 1 million will be brought safely to India. “The culmination of the ongoing anti-piracy operation in the Southern Indian Ocean Region highlights the commitment of the Indian Navy towards reinforcing peace and stability, and also to thwart the resurgence of piracy in the region,” it said.