The Indian Navy has freed an Iranian fishing vessel that was hijacked by pirates and rescued 23 Pakistani crew members as part of an anti-piracy operation in the Arabian Sea.

On Friday night, the Indian Navy had said it was engaged in an operation to rescue the hijacked vessel — reportedly boarded by nine armed pirates — and its crew at sea.

“After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures as per the SOPs,
the pirates on board the hijacked fishing vessel were forced to surrender. The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, have been safely rescued,” a spokesperson for the Indian Navy said.

The navy’s specialist teams completed sanitisation and seaworthiness checks of the Iranian vessel. “The crew comprising 23 Pakistani nationals were given a thorough medical check-up before clearing the boat to continue with her fishing activities,” the navy said.

The pirates are being brought to India for further legal action in accordance with the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act of 2022.

The navy had received inputs about a piracy incident onboard the Iranian fishing vessel Al-Kambar on March 28, about 90 nautical miles southwest of Socotra in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden.

The two Indian naval ships deployed in the Arabian Sea for maritime security operations were diverted to intercept the hijacked vessel. The vessel was intercepted on Friday by INS Sumedha, which was later joined by the guided missile frigate INS Trishul.

The Indian Navy said it remained committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and the safety of seafarers “irrespective of the nationalities”.

Last week, the Indian Navy had handed over 35 Somali pirates, who were captured from a hijacked vessel on the high seas off the east coast of Somalia, to Mumbai police.