Navy rescues 13 crew members from Somali pirates


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Bellevision Media Network

Kochi, 14 March 2011: In a significant anti-piracy operation, Indian Navy apprehended 61 pirates and rescued 13 crew members of a merchant vessel, which was being used by the pirates as a mother ship. On Saturday night, the Southern Naval Command-based Fast Attack Craft INS Kalpeni intercepted Vega 5, a pirate mother vessel, about 600 nautical miles west of India in the Arabian Sea and nabbed the pirates on board.

 

A naval Dornier maritime recce aircraft on Friday responded to a call from MV Vancouver Bridge under pirate attack and located Vega 5 in the area. Seeing the naval aircraft, the pirates aborted their attack and tried to flee. While the Dornier continued to track the pirate mother vessel Vega 5, the Navy’s missile corvette Khukri and FAC Kalpeni, which had been deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, were diverted to intercept and investigate Vega 5, said a defence media release.

 


Vega 5, a Mozambique-flagged fishing vessel, which was hijacked by pirates on December 28 and used as a mother ship ever since. In a major operation on Saturday, Indian Navy foiled a piracy attempt by pirate-controlled Vega 5 about 600 nautical miles west of Indian coast in the Arabian Sea. It nabbed 61 pirates and rescued 13 original crew of the vessel.

 

“INS Kalpeni closed Vega 5 on Saturday night. In the darkness, the pirate mother vessel launched two skiffs which fired at Kalpeni. The warship returned limited fire. Thereafter, it was observed that a fire had broken out on Vega 5 (mother vessels are known to carry additional fuel drums to fuel the skiffs). Personnel were also seen jumping overboard.

 

INS Kalpeni in conjunction with INS Khukri recovered 74 personnel comprising 61 pirates and 13 members of the original crew of the fishing vessel. Preliminary investigations revealed that the pirates were carrying about 80 to 90 small arms/rifles and a few heavier weapons (likely to be rocket-propelled grenades),” said the release.

 


INS Kalpeni stands tall at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi. The fast attack craft intercepted Vega 5, a pirate mother vessel and apprehended 61 pirates off the western coast, a navy spokesperson said on Monday.

 

Vega 5, a Mozambique flagged fishing vessel was pirated on December 28 last year and has since been used as a mother vessel for launching skiffs to carry out hijacking. This vessel had been a risk to international shipping for the last four months, said the release.

 

Naval ships and aircraft are presently in the area searching for more fishermen/pirates. South Eastern Arabian sea is a focal point of international traffic and the security of these sea lanes there is critical to the flow of global trade.

 


In a major operation, the Indian Navy intercepted a pirate mother ship, rescuing 13 crew members, and arrested 61 Somali sea brigands about 600 nautical miles off the western coast. In this file photo, Mumbai police take a Somali pirate into custody.

 

In addition to the anti-piracy patrols being sustained in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008, in view of the dangers from vessels such as Vega 5, the Navy and the Coast Guard have been maintaining vigil west of the Lakshadweep Islands in the last four months. This has proved effective and piracy incidents in this area have seen a 60 percent dip since December last.

 

The Navy had earlier apprehended 43 pirates from two mother ships in operations on January 28 and February 11 in the Arabian Sea.

 

 

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Comments on this Article
Joe Dsouza, Mangalore Mon, March-14-2011, 8:15
Great work by Indian Navy. These pirates are a nuisance in the sea, who are to be completely eliminated making the sea safer for sailors.
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