Indian Navy has aided rescue operations of a Sri Lankan fishing trawler off the Somalian coast, officials said today. In its role of rescuing the vessel from pirates, the Indian Navy once again successfully thwarted a third hijacking attempt in the last three days.
Hijacked Vessel Intercepted In Seychelles
The Sri Lankan vessel was intercepted in Seychelles by their coast guard with vital inputs from the Indian Navy. All six crew members on the vessel are safe and it is being escorted to Mahe in Seychelles, the Navy said.
Lorenzo Putha 04, a Sri Lankan flagged vessel, was hijacked by three pirates off the Mogadishu coast on Saturday.
The Indian Navy in response deployed its patrol vessel INS Sharada and also sent Sea Guardian drones to locate the hijacked vessel.
Finally, the fishing trawler was intercepted by Seychelles Coast Guard yesterday following coordination and information sharing with Sri Lanka and Seychelles liaison officers, said the Navy.
In a coordinated multilateral response, the Indian Navy in collaboration with Seychelles Defence Forces and Sri Lanka Navy successfully intercepted and rescued the hijacked vessel.
Alarming Rise In Attacks On Vessels In The Region
There has been an alarming rise in attacks on vessels since Israel-Hamas war began. Notably, Somalian waters and surrounding areas have a troubled history of piracy, including in Gulf of Aden and the Somali Sea.
The Indian Navy had responded to two other hijacking attempts off the Somalian coast since last weekend.
On Monday, Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued Pakistani sailors from 11 pirates who had hijacked their fishing vessel – FV Al Naeemi – off the east coast of Somalia and taken the crew hostage.
INS Sumita previously responded to a distress call from another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel – FV Iman – that was hijacked by pirates in the same region, and ensured the safe release of 17 crew members.
Last Sunday, another Indian warship INS Visakhapatnam helped extinguish a massive fire on board a merchant vessel that was struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden the previous night.
Bengali