Indian military recaptured cargo ship from Somali pirates: 17 crew members rescued
Photo: Indian military recaptured a cargo ship from Somali pirates (wikimedia.org)
Indian Navy, with the assistance of special forces, recaptured a cargo ship from the Somali pirates and rescued 17 crew members, informs Reuters.
It is reported that all 35 pirates on board the cargo ship Ruen under the Maltese flag surrendered. The military also inspected the vessel for illegal weapons, ammunition, and contraband. Ruen was hijacked by pirates last year.
According to Indian military sources, the ship could have been used as a floating base for the capture of other cargo vessels off the coast of Somalia. The hijacking of Ruen marks the first successful hijacking involving Somali pirates since 2017 when aggressive measures by international naval forces halted a series of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
In recent months, India has deployed at least 12 military ships east of the Red Sea to ensure maritime security. As previously stated by Indian Navy representatives, since December 1, military forces have recorded at least 17 cases of hijacking attempts, attempted hijackings, and suspicious approaches to ships.
What preceded
Earlier, the Indian Navy evacuated the crew of the vessel True Confidence, which had previously been attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. It is reported that 20 crew members and three armed guards on board were taken to a hospital in Djibouti by an Indian military ship.
On March 6, the British Embassy in Yemen reported the shelling of the vessel True Confidence flying the flag of Barbados. The diplomatic mission stated that at least two sailors were killed in the attack. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that True Confidence allegedly belongs to Americans.
Two of the deceased were Filipino citizens, and the third was Vietnamese. It is noted that during the attack, two more Filipinos also suffered serious injuries.
