Pirate attacks worldwide has witnessed a sharp decline in the first half of 2012 as international naval efforts played a key role in "frustrating" the menace posed by Somali pirates, a global maritime watchdog said on Monday.
An Indian Navy ship has thwarted a pirate attack on a merchant vessel with 10 Indian crew members in the Gulf of Aden.
Ending a six-month ordeal, the crew of nine Indian and 12 Iranian sailors of cargo ship MV Sinin was freed on Saturday by Somali pirates. "Nine Indian sailors along with 12 Iranians of M V Sinin have been released by the pirates today. All of them are safe," said Director General of Shipping S B Agnihotri. The Somali pirates had on February 12 seized the Malta-flagged, 52,000 tonne bulk carrier 315 nautical miles off Masirah (Oman) while it was on its way to Singapore.
Thirteen Iranians were rescued by a US Navy destroyer on Thursday, more than 40 days after their boat was commandeered by suspected Somali pirates in the northern Arabian Sea.
Swift intervention by a Malaysian naval helicopter on Thursday saved an Indian vessel from a hijack bid by armed pirates dressed in military attire in the Gulf of Aden region, off Somalia.
In a major operation, the Indian Navy intercepted a pirate mother ship, rescuing 13 crew members, and arrested 61 Somali sea brigands nearly 600 nautical miles off the western coast. "Vega 5, a pirate mother vessel, was intercepted by fast attack craft INS Kalpeni and 61 pirates were apprehended and 13 crew members rescued," a Navy spokesperson said on Monday. The pirates and their ship were being brought to Mumbai for further investigations, the spokesperson said.
Eleven Indians, who were hijacked by Somali pirates 11 months ago, were released on Wednesday. Babu, father of Roji V John, a second officer in a cargo ship and a native of Pathanamthitta district, told PTI that authorities of the Rack International company, which owns the ship, handed over the ransom amount. John was part of the 26-member crew of M V Rack Africana, which was hijacked on April 10, 2010 while on its way to Morali in Africa.
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Seven Indians, who were on board a hijacked Hong Kong-registered ship MV Delight, were safe after Somalian pirates released the vessel, the Directorate General of Shipping said in Mumbai on Sunday.The pirates released the vessel and 25 crew members onboard on Friday night, it said in a statement.MV Delight, chartered by Iran, was hijacked from the Gulf of Aden on November 18.
When questioned about the absence of any mention of the Indian Navy's role in the operation, Hua said China's ministry of defence should be approached for details.
Suspected Somali pirates on Tuesday hijacked an Italian cargo vessel with 18 crew, including seven Indian seafarers, off the coast of Oman.
"Since Saturday afternoon, the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni pirates are kept in custody on board INS Mysore and they are being fed with the rations meant for sailors," Navy officials said in Delhi on Monday. "We have not received any instructions yet from the Defence Ministry or the External Affairs Ministry on what needs to be done with the pirates," they said
The Somali government has asked India to hand over the 43 pirates, arrested off the coast of Lakshadweep during two separate operations recently, so that they can be put on trial in their country, police said.
With 53 Indian sailors still held captive by Somali pirates, India on Thursday said the safety and security of Indians remains the priority of government and efforts were on to seek their safe release. With the release of the RAK Afrikana, held by Somali pirates with 11 Indian sailors among its crew, the number of Indian sailors held by Somali pirates is now 53 who were captured during the hijacking of five ships.
Somali pirates have released a Greek-owned oil tanker with 26 crew members, including 11 Indians, after holding them captive for ten months, the vessel's operating company said on Tuesday.
On December 17, heavily-armed pirates stormed a German oil tanker SP Brussels belonging to the Medallion Marine company. They went on to loot the ship and took hostage five Indian sailors.
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A group of sailors taken hostage by Somali pirates nearly two years ago have appealed to the government to get them released from captivity.
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After being held in captivity for more than three months by Somali pirates, seven out of 22 Indian crewmembers of the Panama-flagged cargo vessel 'Al Khaliq' returned safely in Mumbai on Thursday.
Indian Navy spokesperson on Wednesday said its stealth frigate INS Tabar, currently deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy surveillance and patrol operations, had successfully sorted out the pirates last evening 285 nautical miles south west of Salalah in Oman.
Alleged Somalian pirates have set a ransom of $400,000 to release Indian cargo ship Bhaktisagar and its 21-man crew.
The M T Stolt Valor, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in September, has been released, according to the National Union of Seafarers of India. There were 18 Indian soldiers on board the hijacked ship. Initial reports said that ransom was paid to the pirates by the Japanese owners Stolt Tankers. Reports said that all crew members on board are safe. The ship has left for Mumbai and will reach in three to four days.
Aman Kumar Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, an Indian national, was among the 11 crew members of a ship freed after being held hostage for nearly four years by Somali pirates, with a top United Nations official calling for the release of all remaining captives.
Suspected pirates on Thursday attempted to hijack an Indian ship in the Gulf of Aden, but were apprehended by a United States missile cruiser, which 'quickly' responded to the merchant vessel's distress call. The Indian-flagged Motor Vessel Premdivya sent a distress call reporting that she had been fired by a small skiff and suspected pirates were attempting to board it. The guided missile cruiser Vella Gulf intercepted the call and navy copter signaled for the skiff to stop
A suspected pirate vessel that was destroyed by India's INS Tabar last week in the Gulf of Aden was in fact a Thai fishing trawler which had been hijacked, a maritime bureau confirmed today.
The fishermen were locked in their boat's ice chamber by pirates who escaped after looting the boat.
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In a strong display of its prowess in the global fight against the menace of piracy threatening maritime trade near Horn of Africa, Indian Navy's guided missile destroyer INS Mysore repulsed the pirate attack on Ethiopian flag-bearing MV Gibe that was sailing 150 nautical miles off Aden in Yemen around noon, a Navy spokesperson said in New Delhi.
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With its operations to crackdown pirates in the Gulf of Aden meeting with success this week, India today said it was considering augmenting naval assets to fight the threat to peaceful commercial shipping in the region.
Over 260 pirate attacks were witnessed on world's seas in the first six months of the year, most of them by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea, but the number of hijacks went down due to strong international naval patrolling on the Eastern coast of Africa.
A merchant vessel, with around 20 Indian crew, was hit by a suspected drone about 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea on Saturday but there was no report of any casualties in the incident, Indian military sources and a maritime security agency said.
Somali pirates are "shifting their location" towards India, but the country is watchful to deal with such threats, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
Twenty two hostages, including five Indians, who had been kidnapped by Somali pirates nearly three years ago have been freed. Forces of Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region said their maritime force began the operation to free the hostages, and their ship, nearly two weeks ago.
In walked the scruffy band of pirates, without any swagger. Mostly tall or burly men, with weather beaten, resigned faces, the majority were dressed in track pants and tees; a few had skull caps. Some of their T-shirts had messages like 'I'm not in danger, I'm danger' or 'Long Beach California Surfer'.
In the third such attack in over two weeks in the Gulf of Guinea, the Singapore-owned vessel, MT Abu Dhabi Star, was taken over by pirates on Tuesday night when it was sailing towards the open sea.
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