INS Kolkata intercepted Ruen early on March 15 after which the presence of pirates in the ship was confirmed. "In a reckless hostile act, the pirates shot down the drone and fired at the Indian Naval warship," the press note read.
The 35 pirates nabbed by the Indian Navy late last week during their anti-piracy operations will be brought to Mumbai on Saturday morning and handed over to Mumbai’s Yellow Gate police. Officials from Mumbai police confirmed that they will be taking them in their custody and will register a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Maritime Anti Piracy Act and the Arms Act.
Defence officials had earlier said that as part of the operation, INS Kolkata was deployed in the Arabian Sea. and after sustained high-tempo operations lasting for over 40 hours she intercepted a pirate ship MV Ruen on March 16, which was hijacked in December 2023, and was under the control of Somalian pirates.
Owing to sustained pressure and calibrated actions by the Indian Navy for over 40 hours, 35 Somalian pirates surrendered and the 17 crew members of MV Ruen were safely evacuated from the pirate vessel without any injury.
“The Indian Navy as part of Maritime Security Operations has been carrying out extensive surveillance in the region including monitoring of traffic in Areas of Interest. Based on analysis of surveillance information, the Indian Navy was able to track the movement of the pirate ship Ruen and directed INS Kolkata to intercept the ship about 260 nautical miles (NM) east of Somalia,” stated a Ministry of Defence press note.
INS Kolkata intercepted Ruen early on March 15 after which the presence of pirates in the ship was confirmed. “In a reckless hostile act, the pirates shot down the drone and fired at the Indian Naval warship,” the press note read.
The defence spokesperson further said that INS Kolkata, after a successful anti-piracy operation in the Arabian Sea, “is expected to arrive in the early hours of March 23 at the naval dockyard in Mumbai with 35 captured pirates onboard. The captured pirates will be handed over to the law enforcement authority upon arrival for further action.”
The Mumbai police has deployed bandobast to ensure that the law and order is under control. The Indian Express
