Indian Navy Destroyer In Anti-Piracy Action On Sept 5


Indian Navy Statement: On 05 Sept, while on anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Navy destroyer INS Delhi successfully neutralised a pirate boat while escorting merchant vessels. INS Delhi deployed in the Gulf of Aden since mid-July 2010 was escorting 12 merchant vessels including Jag Ratan, an Indian Flag merchant vessel. At about 1215h on 05 Sept in a position 180-km north of the Somali Coast, in the International Recommended Transit Corridor, a boat was detected approaching the formation at high speed. INS Delhi immediately and repeatedly called the boat on Mercantile Marine Radio but the boat failed to respond to these calls. Sensing that the boat may pose a risk to ships being escorted, INS Delhi safely maneuvered the formation of merchant ships away and intercepted the boat. A helicopter was launched to provide aerial cover to the merchant vessels and the boat "Bareeda" was successfully intercepted, forced to stop and boarded by a team of Marine Commandos from INS Delhi. On investigation a cache of arms and several fuel drums and ship boarding equipment were found. There were 07 Somali and 01 Yemeni national as part of the crew. The men were disarmed and excess fuel on the boat was disposed off by the boarding team.

Since the Indian Navy started it's anti-piracy operations in Oct 2008, over 1,200 ships have been escorted. This is the 16th piracy attack that has been prevented and not a single ship under escort of Indian Navy has fallen prey to pirates.

Photos Courtesy Indian Navy

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