The Indian Navy said on Friday it had freed an Iranian-flagged vessel with 19 crew members that had been hijacked by pirates off Somalia’s east coast.
On Friday, the Indian Navy announced that it had saved an Iranian-flagged vessel with 19 crew members from pirates who had seized it off Somalia’s east coast, in its third rescue mission this week.
The Navy’s warship Sharda “intercepted FV Omaril in the early hours of February 2 and used its helicopter and boats to make the pirates release the crew safely,” the Navy posted on social media site .
The vessel, which had the Iranian flag, was carrying eleven Iranian and eight Pakistani crew members when seven Somali pirates boarded it.
The statement also said that “INS Sharda carried out a confirmation boarding on FV Omari” to ensure the crew’s well-being.
This was the Indian Navy’s third operation in the area this week, following the rescue of a ship with 19 Pakistani crew members from pirates off Somalia’s coast by the warship Sumitra last Tuesday.
On Monday, the Navy had also liberated another 17 crew members from a ship near the Gulf of Aden.
India has increased its presence in the Arabian Sea since December by deploying several destroyers.
The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are witnessing a conflict as Houthi rebels attack commercial ships associated with Israel, which has prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to bomb the rebels’ positions in Yemen.
The situation in the region has forced the world’s leading shipping companies to alter their routes to avoid this sea route, which accounts for 8% of the global grain trade, 12% of the oil trade and 8% of the international liquefied natural gas.
