New Delhi: After a dramatic operation, the Indian Navy rescued a hijacked merchant vessel – MV Ruen – and arrested 35 Somali pirates, the Indian Navy officials said. MV Ruen, a merchant vessel, had been hijacked by Somali pirates on December 14, 2023. It was reported to have sailed out as a pirate ship towards conducting acts of piracy on the high seas. A warship of The Indian Navy intercepted the vessel on March 15.
After an operation, the Indian Navy secured the vessel’s release after over three months. The Indian Navy had forced the pirates to surrender after a major operation on the high seas.
The Navy deployed its P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, frontline ships INS Kolkata and INS Subhadra, and high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle. The elite MARCOS commandos were air-dropped for the operation by C-17 aircraft.
“INS Kolkata, in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender and ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members in the evening today from the pirate vessel without any injury,” Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
In the operation, Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft had picked up Marine Commandos in large numbers from an air base on the west coast of India and air-dropped them in the Arabian Sea near the hijacked vessel around 2600 Km away from Indian shores.
Sharing the details of the operations, officials said special boats of commandos were airdropped separately on the location in which they moved towards the vessel and carried out the operation.
