Indian Navy warship foils
hijack attempt off Aden
Mumbai,
Nov 11 (IANS) In a daring rescue mission, an Indian Navy warship
patrolling the Gulf of Aden successfully foiled an attempt
by pirates to hijack an Indian merchant vessel Tuesday morning.
According
to the Indian Navy, at around 10.30 a.m. Tuesday, the Indian
vessel M.V. Jag Arnav sent an SOS message about a hijacking
attempt on it, around 60 nautical miles to east of Aden.
An
unidentified Indian Navy warship, patrolling the area, picked
up the alarm message and decided to send a rescue mission.
An
armed helicopter with marine commandos took off from the naval
ship for the mission.
Reaching
there shortly, the helicopter attacked the pirates by firing
on them and forced them to flee.
The
ship was soon joined by the Indian Navy warship, which then
escorted M.V. Jag Arnav to safety.
The
rescued ship is a 38,000 tonne-bulk carrier, owned by The
Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd. It had transited the Suez
Canal a few days ago and was bound eastward in the Gulf of
Aden when pirates attacked the vessel.
Timely
intervention by the Indian Navy warship prevented yet another
hijacking incident in the pirate-infested seas off the northern
African coast, the navy said.
Incidentally,
the Indian Navy has been engaged in anti-piracy patrolling
in the Gulf of Aden since the past three weeks to keep an
eye over vessels passing the region.
A
sizeable portion of India's imports flow through the Gulf
of Aden and there has been a quantum increase in the number
of piracy attacks there in the past few months.
The
patrolling is carried out in coordination with the Ministry
of Shipping and intended to protect Indian merchant vessels
from piracy attacks as well as instill confidence in India's
large seafaring community.
Indo-Asian
News Service
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