New Delhi, November 23 (PTI): The Navy has deployed a second warship in the Indian Ocean to combat piracy. While a larger warship has been deployed continuously in the general area of the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, a smaller vessel will now do patrolling around Seychelles and Mauritius.
The decision was taken after pirates shifted their operations to the East of Somalia, also referred to as the Somalia Basin and to the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Some of these attacks have taken place nearly 1,900 km from the Somali coast, making these waters dangerous for seafarers, thereby seriously affecting the safety of international trade and commerce transiting through these waters.The Navy will deploy INS Savitri, an offshore patrol vessel with a Chetak helicopter and marine commandos for the surveillance of EEZ of Seychelles and Mauritius from the end of this month till early next year. INS Savitri will be deployed in close coordination with the ships and aircraft of Seychelles Coast Guard and the Mauritian National Coast Guard to deter piracy in these areas.Over the past few years, incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia have increased considerably with over 174 piracy attempts, involving ships of various nationalities, have taken place in the last one year. To dissuade and prevent hijackings in the Gulf of Aden, the Navy was operating a warship in the Gulf of Aden since October 23 last.
Showing posts with label indain navy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indain navy. Show all posts
22 October 2009
Press Trust of India: Indian Navy has a plan to deal with sea piracy
They have a plan....but they won't say what it is.
Hopefully it is more than "don't get hijacked'.
Link to Article
Hopefully it is more than "don't get hijacked'.
Link to Article
19 November 2008
Indian warship destroys suspected pirate ship off Somalia
Link to Article
On Tuesday, pirates off Somalia's coast seized an Iranian-owned and Hong Kong-flagged freighter carrying 35 metric tons of wheat and a crew of 25, a Greek freight ship with a crew of 23 and a Thai fishing boat and its crew of 16. The ships, crew and cargo are typically anchored off the Somali coast and ransomed for huge sums of cash.
The scourge has become a major headache for shippers facing increased insurance and security costs. Already a major Norwegian shipping firm announced that it would no longer sail through the Gulf of Aden, directing its freighters and tankers to take a circuitous route around Africa to avoid the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the oil-rich Arabian peninsula.
The move would incur "significant" extra costs, which would be passed on to customers and consumers.
"We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden," Terje Storeng, the president and CEO of Bergen, Norway-based Odfjell said in a news release. "Odfjell is frustrated by the fact that governments and authorities in general seem to take a limited interest in this very serious problem."
The U.S. military said it could take only limited steps to intervene and thwart pirates. Maritime experts say international law on jurisdiction regarding pirates is murky, with naval forces clearly permitted to attack pirates only when a commercial ship is under assault.
But New Delhi has apparently taken a different approach. Last week, Indian marine commandos on a helicopter swooped in on the scene of a hijacking to fend off pirates assailing an Indian commercial ship. Two suspected pirates were killed in a shootout with British commandos defending a Danish vessel this month.
In the latest incident, New Delhi said the Tabar tried to stop a suspected pirate vessel about 300 miles southwest of the Omani city of Salalah on Tuesday evening. Instead of allowing the sailors to inspect the ship, the alleged pirates threatened to "blow up the naval warship if it closed on her," the statement said.
"Pirates could be seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket-propelled-grenade launchers," the statement said.
The pirates opened fire, the news release said, and the Tabar, a 400-foot warship, fired back. Fire and explosions erupted on board the suspected pirate ship, possibly the result of ammunition going off, the military said.
As the boat sank, some of the pirates escaped on high-speed rafts, the news release said.
More than 90 ships have been hijacked by pirates this year off the Horn of Africa. Since it arrived in the Gulf of Aden this month, the Tabar has escorted about 35 ships through the "pirate-infested" waterway, the Indian government said.
The piracy epidemic has captured the imagination of a public enamored with the romantic image of swashbuckling seamen of yore, engaged in swordplay and barking out orders to fellow buccaneers. But experts say today's pirates are tough young criminals armed with AK-47s and dressed in camouflage.
Storeng, the chief of the Norwegian shipping company, described modern piracy as "ruthless, high-level organized crime."
Daragahi is a Times staff writer.
EPA/STR
The Indian Navy ship Tabar is shown escorting another vessel in this file photo.
India says the military vessel opened fire after coming under attack and that some of the pirates escaped on high-speed rafts as their boat sank.
Reporting from Beirut -- An Indian warship patrolling the treacherous waters off the Horn of Africa destroyed a suspected pirate ship late Tuesday, at least the second time in a week that India's armed forces have unleashed military force to combat piracy amid a surge in maritime lawlessness.
According to a news release issued today by the Indian Defense Ministry, the Tabar opened fire on a pirate ship after it came under attack Tuesday evening, leaving the burning vessel to sink. There was no mention of rescuing or capturing its crew.
According to a news release issued today by the Indian Defense Ministry, the Tabar opened fire on a pirate ship after it came under attack Tuesday evening, leaving the burning vessel to sink. There was no mention of rescuing or capturing its crew.
Along with the U.S., Russia and European nations, India is among the naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, a major shipping lane between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Concern over piracy surged after audacious bandits Saturday hijacked a gigantic 1,000-foot tanker loaded with at least $100 million worth of crude oil and moored it near a pirate's haven off the coast of Somalia.
The pirates aboard the tanker, the Sirius Star, today demanded money in exchange for the $120-million ship, its crew and cargo.
"Negotiators are aboard the ship and on land," a suspected pirate calling himself Farah Abed Jameh, described as one of the bandits who hijacked the Saudi tanker, said in an audiotape aired by the Arab-language Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite news channel.
"Once they agree on the ransom, it will be taken in cash to the oil tanker," he said, without specifying an amountThe pirates aboard the tanker, the Sirius Star, today demanded money in exchange for the $120-million ship, its crew and cargo.
"Negotiators are aboard the ship and on land," a suspected pirate calling himself Farah Abed Jameh, described as one of the bandits who hijacked the Saudi tanker, said in an audiotape aired by the Arab-language Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite news channel.
On Tuesday, pirates off Somalia's coast seized an Iranian-owned and Hong Kong-flagged freighter carrying 35 metric tons of wheat and a crew of 25, a Greek freight ship with a crew of 23 and a Thai fishing boat and its crew of 16. The ships, crew and cargo are typically anchored off the Somali coast and ransomed for huge sums of cash.
The scourge has become a major headache for shippers facing increased insurance and security costs. Already a major Norwegian shipping firm announced that it would no longer sail through the Gulf of Aden, directing its freighters and tankers to take a circuitous route around Africa to avoid the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the oil-rich Arabian peninsula.
The move would incur "significant" extra costs, which would be passed on to customers and consumers.
"We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden," Terje Storeng, the president and CEO of Bergen, Norway-based Odfjell said in a news release. "Odfjell is frustrated by the fact that governments and authorities in general seem to take a limited interest in this very serious problem."
The U.S. military said it could take only limited steps to intervene and thwart pirates. Maritime experts say international law on jurisdiction regarding pirates is murky, with naval forces clearly permitted to attack pirates only when a commercial ship is under assault.
But New Delhi has apparently taken a different approach. Last week, Indian marine commandos on a helicopter swooped in on the scene of a hijacking to fend off pirates assailing an Indian commercial ship. Two suspected pirates were killed in a shootout with British commandos defending a Danish vessel this month.
In the latest incident, New Delhi said the Tabar tried to stop a suspected pirate vessel about 300 miles southwest of the Omani city of Salalah on Tuesday evening. Instead of allowing the sailors to inspect the ship, the alleged pirates threatened to "blow up the naval warship if it closed on her," the statement said.
"Pirates could be seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket-propelled-grenade launchers," the statement said.
The pirates opened fire, the news release said, and the Tabar, a 400-foot warship, fired back. Fire and explosions erupted on board the suspected pirate ship, possibly the result of ammunition going off, the military said.
As the boat sank, some of the pirates escaped on high-speed rafts, the news release said.
More than 90 ships have been hijacked by pirates this year off the Horn of Africa. Since it arrived in the Gulf of Aden this month, the Tabar has escorted about 35 ships through the "pirate-infested" waterway, the Indian government said.
The piracy epidemic has captured the imagination of a public enamored with the romantic image of swashbuckling seamen of yore, engaged in swordplay and barking out orders to fellow buccaneers. But experts say today's pirates are tough young criminals armed with AK-47s and dressed in camouflage.
Storeng, the chief of the Norwegian shipping company, described modern piracy as "ruthless, high-level organized crime."
Daragahi is a Times staff writer.
India: Pirate 'mother ship' left in flames
Link to Article
(CNN) -- An Indian warship has exchanged fire with a pirate "mother vessel" off the hijacking-plagued Horn of Africa, leaving the ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden, an official said Wednesday. A file photo shows the Indian frigate Tabar, which was involved in the skirmish. The skirmish took place Tuesday evening about 525 kilometers southwest of Oman's Salalah port when the frigate INS Tabar spotted a suspected pirate ship with two speedboats in tow, India's Defense Ministry reported. The pirate ship was badly damaged, said spokesman Nirad Sinha, but he could not confirm reports it had sunk. "This vessel was similar in description to the 'Mother Vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins," the ministry said in a written statement. The battle follows a recent surge in piracy off the Horn of Africa, including the weekend hijacking of a Saudi-owned supertanker by pirates based in largely lawless Somalia. See where latest hijacking took place. » Three other vessels have been captured since then in what a London-based maritime official called a "completely unprecedented" situation. The Saudi owners of a hijacked oil supertanker carrying an oil cargo worth up to $100 million, which pirates Tuesday anchored off the Somali coast, said they were negotiating with its captors. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal said he could not confirm if a ransom had been demanded, but said the owners of the 300,000-ton Sirius Star were "negotiating on the issue," The Associated Press reported. In its clash with the pirate vessel, the Tabar's crew hailed the ship and demanded it stop for inspection, the pirates threatened to destroy the Indian ship, the ministry reported. "Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued its threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar," the ministry said. The Indian frigate returned fire, setting the pirate ship ablaze and setting off explosions on board, the statement said. Two speedboats in tow behind the ship fled; one was found abandoned after a pursuit by the Tabar. It was not clear Wednesday whether the mother ship sank after the fighting, naval spokesman Prem Raj Rawat told CNN. Michael Howlett, assistant director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which tracks pirate attacks, said the recent upsurge in activity was unprecedented. "We've never seen a situation like this," he said. Watch Mersk CEO describe how "all ships are at risk" » On Tuesday, pirates hijacked a Thai fishing vessel and a Chinese-flagged Iranian cargo ship carrying wheat in the waters off the Horn of Africa. A third ship -- a Chinese fishing vessel -- was hijacked Saturday, but word did not reach authorities until Tuesday, Howlett said. Noel Choong, who heads the IMB's Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said 95 pirate attacks have taken place so far this year in the Gulf of Aden. Of those, 39 resulted in successful captures; 17 of those vessels and their crews -- a total of about 300 sailors -- remain in the hands of the pirates. But the seizure of the 300,000-ton supertanker Sirius Star took place well south of the gulf, in the Indian Ocean off Kenya. Pirate attacks are spreading farther north to the Gulf of Aden and farther south off the Kenyan coast, Choong said. "The risks are low and the returns are extremely high for these pirates," he told CNN. Pirates know that their chances of getting killed or captured during a hijacking are very low, he said.
(CNN) -- An Indian warship has exchanged fire with a pirate "mother vessel" off the hijacking-plagued Horn of Africa, leaving the ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden, an official said Wednesday. A file photo shows the Indian frigate Tabar, which was involved in the skirmish. The skirmish took place Tuesday evening about 525 kilometers southwest of Oman's Salalah port when the frigate INS Tabar spotted a suspected pirate ship with two speedboats in tow, India's Defense Ministry reported. The pirate ship was badly damaged, said spokesman Nirad Sinha, but he could not confirm reports it had sunk. "This vessel was similar in description to the 'Mother Vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins," the ministry said in a written statement. The battle follows a recent surge in piracy off the Horn of Africa, including the weekend hijacking of a Saudi-owned supertanker by pirates based in largely lawless Somalia. See where latest hijacking took place. » Three other vessels have been captured since then in what a London-based maritime official called a "completely unprecedented" situation. The Saudi owners of a hijacked oil supertanker carrying an oil cargo worth up to $100 million, which pirates Tuesday anchored off the Somali coast, said they were negotiating with its captors. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal said he could not confirm if a ransom had been demanded, but said the owners of the 300,000-ton Sirius Star were "negotiating on the issue," The Associated Press reported. In its clash with the pirate vessel, the Tabar's crew hailed the ship and demanded it stop for inspection, the pirates threatened to destroy the Indian ship, the ministry reported. "Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued its threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar," the ministry said. The Indian frigate returned fire, setting the pirate ship ablaze and setting off explosions on board, the statement said. Two speedboats in tow behind the ship fled; one was found abandoned after a pursuit by the Tabar. It was not clear Wednesday whether the mother ship sank after the fighting, naval spokesman Prem Raj Rawat told CNN. Michael Howlett, assistant director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which tracks pirate attacks, said the recent upsurge in activity was unprecedented. "We've never seen a situation like this," he said. Watch Mersk CEO describe how "all ships are at risk" » On Tuesday, pirates hijacked a Thai fishing vessel and a Chinese-flagged Iranian cargo ship carrying wheat in the waters off the Horn of Africa. A third ship -- a Chinese fishing vessel -- was hijacked Saturday, but word did not reach authorities until Tuesday, Howlett said. Noel Choong, who heads the IMB's Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said 95 pirate attacks have taken place so far this year in the Gulf of Aden. Of those, 39 resulted in successful captures; 17 of those vessels and their crews -- a total of about 300 sailors -- remain in the hands of the pirates. But the seizure of the 300,000-ton supertanker Sirius Star took place well south of the gulf, in the Indian Ocean off Kenya. Pirate attacks are spreading farther north to the Gulf of Aden and farther south off the Kenyan coast, Choong said. "The risks are low and the returns are extremely high for these pirates," he told CNN. Pirates know that their chances of getting killed or captured during a hijacking are very low, he said.
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