Following 100 days of anti-piracy operations east of the Red Sea, where piracy has reappeared for the first time in almost a decade, the Indian navy turned up 35 Somali pirates to the police in Mumbai on Saturday.
Three months after the cargo ship Ruen was taken over off the coast of Somalia, India, the country with the greatest military might in the Gulf of Aden and northern Arabian Sea, apprehended the pirates last week.
Pirates have carried out or attempted more than 20 hijackings since November, taking advantage of Western forces’ attention to defend shipping from attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants. This has increased insurance and security costs and created a crisis for international shipping companies.
The Houthis, who declared their support for Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s conflict with Hamas, have been attacking the area since November, and as a result, shipping through the region has decreased by half as ships are choosing to circumnavigate southern Africa instead, according to the Indian navy.
The first pirates to be prosecuted under India’s 2022 anti-piracy law, which empowers the navy to capture and jail pirates on the high seas, are the ones captured by Indian commandos and might face life in prison.
At a news conference to commemorate the 100th day of the operations, Naval Head Admiral R Hari Kumar said that the Somalis were using the Ruen as their “mother ship” to conduct attacks on other vessels. All 17 crew members were saved by the commandos.
India has addressed 18 incidents, deploying 21 ships and 5,000 personnel in rotation and boarding and investigating over 1,000 vessels, the navy said. Its unprecedented presence has deployed more than a dozen warships in the past few days.
According to Kumar, “the objective is to ensure that there is safety, security, and stability” in the area.
“We can fulfill our responsibilities as first responders and preferred security partners to guarantee the safety, security, and stability of the Indian Ocean region.”
Since the middle of December, the mission has witnessed or recorded 57 sightings or strikes by drones or missiles. Some of the assaulted ships have received assistance from the Indian navy, which has recovered drone debris from the Houthis, with whom Kumar stated that “we truly have no dispute.”
According to Kumar, one wooden drone that was discovered could travel 1,600 km (1,000 miles) with a four-stroke engine and “basic” electronics.
“To design or build these drones, no extremely complex tools are needed.”
(Reuters)
