Indian Navy Rescues 19 Pakistani Sailors Kidnapped Off Somalian Coast

Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued 19 Pakistani sailors who were kidnapped after their fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates off the east coast of Somalia on Monday. This was the second anti-piracy mission carried out by the warship within 36 hours, the Indian Navy said.

Iranian Vessel With 19 Pakistani Crew Members Rescued By Ins Sumitra – Indian Navy

Eleven armed pirates boarded the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel FV Al Naeemi and took 19 crew members, all Pakistani, hostage.

The Indian Navy warship intercepted the fishing vessel and coerced the pirates to release all the hostages. “Responding swiftly to the developing situation Sumitra intercepted the FV (fishing vessel) on PM 29 Jan 24 and through coercive posturing and effective deployment of her integral helo and boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel,” the Navy said in a statement.

The Navy personnel boarded the vessel to check on the crew.

Ins Sumitra Had Earlier Rescued 17 Iranian Crew Members Of Another Hijacked Vessel

The rescue comes a day after INS Sumitra responded to an SOS call by another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, FV Iman, that was hijacked by Somali pirates. The vessel’s 17 Iranian crew members were rescued by the Navy.

“INS Sumitra, over the course of less than 36 hours, through swift, persistent and relentless efforts has rescued two hijacked Fishing Vessels along with 36 Crew (17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani) in Southern Arabian Sea approximately 850 nm West of Kochi, and prevented misuse of these Fishing Vessels as Mother Ships for further acts of Piracy on Merchant Vessels,” the official statement from Indian Navy said.

INS Sumitra is Indian Navy’s indigenous offshore patrol vessel that has been deployed for anti-piracy and maritime security operations in east of Somalia and Gulf of Aden.

Earlier, Indian Navy’s guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam which is currently being deployed for anti-piracy operations, had helped extinguish a massive blaze onboard a merchant vessel after it was struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden.