Undergoing Operation Sankalp, which involves the deployment of Indian Navy ships in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden to ensure the safety of seafarers and mercantile traffic traveling through the area, included the exercise.
Mumbai: A warship named INS Kolkata arrived this morning. It had 35 pirates on board who were caught during an operation near Somalia, according to the Navy.
The Navy mentioned that these pirates were given to the Mumbai police.
The Navy stated that INS Kolkata, along with the 35 captured pirates, came back to Mumbai on March 23. They handed over the pirates to the local police for legal action under Indian laws, particularly the Maritime Anti Piracy Act 2022.
During a mission that lasted more than 40 hours starting from early March 15, INS Kolkata intercepted a pirate ship called ex-MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea. This action was taken based on information provided by the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region, which received inputs from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
They claimed that the ship was being used as a main base for pirate operations and for hijacking merchant ships.
INS Kolkata began closely following the Pirate Ship in the early hours of March 15.
The ship changed direction and headed for the Somali Coast as soon as it spotted INS Kolkata. The Navy reported that they saw multiple armed pirates on the ship’s upper deck.
In compliance with international law, particularly the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), INS Kolkata ordered the pirate ship to halt so that an inquiry could be conducted.
But the pirate ship refused to obey and instead started shooting.
The INS Kolkata then acted to protect itself and used necessary measures to stop the ship and force the pirates to surrender.
In the operation, INS Subhadra accompanied INS Kolkata. Additionally, in cooperation with the Indian Air Force, the Indian Navy used C-17s to conduct long-range deployment and paradrop of Marine Commandos over the water near the pirate ship.
The Indian Navy P8I aircraft, the Sea Guardian UAV, the ship’s in-built helicopters, and spotter drones conducted the operation’s aerial observation.
“All the pirates surrendered when faced with strong action by the Indian Navy. The 35 pirates and 17 crew members were taken into custody and transferred to Indian Naval ships,” it stated.
The Indian Navy searched the ship to ensure there were no weapons, ammunition, or illegal items on board, making it safe. Additionally, a naval technical team assessed the ship’s condition and made necessary repairs to ensure it was seaworthy for further travel.
