Indian Navy rescued hijacked Pakistani crew from Somali pirates

Indian Navy has rescued a hijacked Pakistani crew by Somali pirates following the most recent attack on Indian Ocean ships. The hijacked Pakistani crew was sailing on the fishing boat “Al Naeemi” with the Iranian flag that the Indian Navy rescued.

Indian Navy patrol vessel “INS Sumitra” rescued the nineteen Pakistani crew members. A spokesperson for the Indian Navy released it in a statement.

According to the Indian Navy spokesperson, eleven Somali pirates had taken the crew hostages. The Navy also posed pictures of Somali pirates with AK-47s standing on the boat and another picture with a navy helicopter flying above.

#INSSumitra Carries out 2nd Successful #AntiPiracy Ops – Rescuing 19 Crew members & Vessel from Somali Pirates.
Having thwarted the Piracy attempt on FV Iman, the warship has carried out another successful anti-piracy ops off the East Coast of Somalia, rescuing Fishing Vessel Al… https://t.co/QZz9bCihaU pic.twitter.com/6AonHw51KX
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 30, 2024

Indian Commandos got the fishing boat in the dark and stood over a group of pirates. The pirates were kneeling at their feet with their hands tied behind their backs on the ship’s deck.

The rescue happened overnight on Jan 29, 2024, off the coast of Somalia. It is about 850 nautical miles (1,574 km) west of Kochi, India. The Indian navy also rescued a Sri Lankan fishing vessel later that day.

Before Pakistani rescue, Indian Navy commandos rescued 21 crew members from a Liberian-flagged ship. The Somalian pirates attacked it off the Somalian coast earlier in January.

Click here to read the updates on Houthis attacking a Karachi-bound ship from Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea

There have been the most pirate strikes off the coast of Somalia since 2011. Somali pirates used to take over fishing boats with powerful open skiffs to travel further into the Indian Ocean to attack larger ships.

Dealing with Somalia’s pirate attacks since 2008, the Indian Navy sent a much bigger group in December 2023. The Navy launched an attack with three guided-missile cruisers and P-81 spy planes to maintain a retaliatory response on Somali pirates.

India said its actions were stopping the misuse of fishing vessels for further acts of piracy on bigger commercial ships. They have also freed the boasts and saved the crew from different nations.