NEW DELHI: An Indian Navy warship intercepted a merchant vessel, which was converted into a mothership by the Somali pirates to hijack vessels plying through the region, the Navy said on Saturday.
The Navy said it thwarted “designs of Somali pirates to hijack ships plying through the region by intercepting ex-MV Ruen.”
Merchant Vessel MV Ruen is the same vessel that had been hijacked by Somali pirates on December 14 last year and was reported to have sailed out as a pirate ship on high seas, the Navy said.
On Friday, the vessel was intercepted by an Indian Navy warship but the pirates onboard the vessel “opened fire”.
In response, the Indian Navy “is taking actions as per international law, in self-defense and to counter piracy, with minimal force necessary to neutralize the pirates’ threat to shipping and seafarers.” The pirates onboard the vessel have been called upon to surrender and release the vessel and any civilians who are held against their will.
“We remain committed to maritime security and safety of seafarers in the region,” the Navy said.
As reported earlier by this newspaper, MV Ruen with 18 sailors onboard gave a distress signal on December 14, 2023, and indicated that six pirates had boarded the vessel.
The Indian Navy became the first responder. The Navy deployed its maritime patrol aircraft P8i to track the movement of the hijacked vessel, which was moving towards the coast of Somalia. After the aircraft located the vessel, the Navy diverted its warship from the Gulf of Aden, and the hijacked vessel was intercepted on the morning of December 16.
Later, the Navy on Monday rendered assistance in evacuating an injured crew member from MV Ruen, the Maltese-flagged merchant vessel hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea. The hijackers took the vessel to the Somali waters.