The IMO Commends India, Greece

Commending the role of Indian navy in fighting pirates at the Gulf of Aden, the world's maritime controlling agency has awarded a special certificate to the forces.

A special 'Certificate of Commendation' was presented to the navy, which had deployed twelve ships off the coast of Somalia till July 2009 by the London-based UN agency, International Maritime Organisation.

Commodore P K Banerjee, Naval Adviser in London and also the commanding officer of one of the warships, which took part in international anti-piracy patrols received the award from E E Mitropoulos, IMO Secretary General at a ceremony held here.

Nalin Surie, the High Commissioner of India to UK, Georg Boomgaarden, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany and President of IMO Assembly, were among dignitaries present on the occasion.

Indian naval ships have escorted about 700 merchant ships, including 600 foreign-flagged vessels from over 45 countries, during anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008.

The award ceremony coincided with the inauguration of the 26th Regular Session of the IMO Assembly here.

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Greek naval officers were among the recipients of Certificates for Exceptional Services Rendered to Shipping and Mankind awarded by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) during a special ceremony in London on Tuesday night, held in the context of the organisation's 26th general assembly.

The Greek officers were honored for their participation in the international efforts to repress piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.

Certificates were presented to the Commanding Officers, or their representatives, of navy ships from EU and NATO member countries and several other individual countries from various regions, namely from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

The Certificates for the Greek officers were presented to Greek Lt. Commanders Panagiotis Lymberis and Antonis Papaioannou, at a ceremony attended by Greece's minister for the economy, competitiveness and shipping Louka Katseli, who is representing Greece at the IMO general assembly that winds up on Wednesday, and Greek ambassador in London Vassilis Pispinis.

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Indian Navy deploys second ship in Indian Ocean to combat piracy

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.

Somali piracy threat in the Indian Ocean - a timeline

A list of some previous high-profile incidents of piracy involving commercial and private vessels near to the Horn of Africa.

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