International Desk:

The Indian Navy responded to a pirate attack in the Arabian Sea and rescued an Iranian fishing vessel and its crew of 23 Pakistani nationals in an over 12-hour-long anti-piracy operation.

“Based on inputs on a potential piracy incident onboard an Iranian Fishing Vessel ‘Al-Kambar 786’ late evening on March 28, two Indian Naval ships – mission deployed in the Arabian Sea for maritime security operations – were diverted to intercept the hijacked fishing vessel,” the Navy said in a statement.

“After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures as per the SOPs, the pirates on board the hijacked FV were forced to surrender. The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, have been safely rescued,” it added.

Indian naval teams then thoroughly sanitised the vessel and checked its seaworthiness to escort her to safety so normal fishing activities could resume, the statement further read.

On March 29, INS Sumedha intercepted the fishing vessel, or FV, Al-Kambar in the early hours after a distress call was sent out and was subsequently joined by the guided missile frigate INS Trishul.

The vessel was approximately 90 nautical miles southwest of Socotra – an island of Yemen in the Indian Ocean – when nine armed pirates reportedly boarded it.

Earlier this month, the Indian Navy carried out another daring operation and intercepted a ship, Ruen, sailing almost 2,600 km from the shores of the Indian Coast when pirates attacked it. The Navy forced the pirate ship to stop through calibrated actions.

In the 40-hour rescue operation, INS Kolkata successfully forced all 35 pirates to surrender and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members from the vessel without any injuries.

In another operation, the Navy promptly responded to a distress call from the Gulf of Aden where a merchant vessel caught fire after being hit by a missile, and rescued 21 crew members, including an Indian.

“The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and the safety of seafarers, irrespective of nationalities,” it said.- NDTV.