
Indian Navy foiled another piracy attempt along the eastern coast of Somalia. This time, New Delhi's naval forces ensured the safe release of 11 Iranian and 8 Pakistani crew aboard the Iranian-flagged vessel FV Omari that had been boarded by seven pirates who took the crew hostage, Indian Navy said in a statement on social media.
The development comes amid Indian Navy's continuous spree of successful anti-piracy operations in the region. India's naval forcesrecently carried out twoconsecutive anti-piracy operations off the East Coast of Somalia, freeing crew members and vessels from Somali pirates. The navy's warshipINS Sumitra had earlier rescued 19 Pakistani nationals aboard the fishing vessel Al Naeemi and 17 Iranian nationals aboard the FV Iman.
The regional maritime security situation in the Indian Ocean has emerged as a challenge to the merchant ships passing through the region in the wake of Israel-Hamas war. The US naval assets in the Red Sea have shifted their focus to target Iran-backed proxy groups in the region who have taken responsibility for targeted attacks on merchant ships in the region.
Indian Navy units are being deployed in strategic waters in Djibouti, Gulf of Aden, East Coast of Somalia as well as in the North and Central Arabian Sea for protection of merchant vessels in view of the regional maritime security situation, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in Lok Sabha the Navy deployed its units in the Gulf of Aden and East coast of Africa towards anti-piracy patrols since 2008 and a total of 3,440 ships and over 25,000 seafarers have been "safely escorted".
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Bhatt said the Navy has been proactively engaging with "regional and extra-regional" navies and maritime forces to promote security in the Indian Ocean region.
He said theIndian Navy since 2008 has been deployingits units in the Gulf of Aden and East coast of Africa foranti-piracy patrols.
(With inputs from agencies)