The Indian Navy’s marine commandos on Tuesday rescued 19 Pakistani sailors after their Iranian-flagged fishing vessel was hijacked by armed Somali pirates off the east coast of Somalia in the Arabian Sea, the navy said.

It was the second successful rescue operation in 36 hours by the Indian warship INS Sumitra.

Eleven armed pirates climbed onto the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, Al Naeemi, and took 19 crew members — all Pakistanis — hostage.

The naval warship Sumitra — an indigenous offshore patrol vessel deployed for anti-piracy and maritime security operations along the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden — intercepted the fishing vessel on Monday and coerced the pirates to release the hostage.

“Responding swiftly to the developing situation, Sumitra intercepted the FV on 29 Jan 24 and through coercive posturing and effective deployment of her integral helo and boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel,” the Navy said in a statement.

The rescue comes a day after INS Sumitra responded to a distress call by another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, Iman, which was hijacked by Somali pirates. The vessel’s 17 Iranian crew members were rescued by the navy.

“INS Sumitra, over the course of less than 36 hours, through swift, persistent and relentless efforts, has rescued two hijacked fishing vessels along with 36 crew (17 Iranian and 19 Pakistani) in southern Arabian Sea approximately 850nm west of Kochi, and prevented misuse of these fishing vessels as Mother Ships for further acts of piracy on merchant vessels,” the navy said.

Over the past few months, there has been a spate of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants on merchant vessels transiting through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea in response to Israel’s military offensive against the Palestinian group Hamas.

So far India has maintained a strategic distance from the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, meant to bolster shipping security in the Southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the wake of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Indian Navy has, however, independently enhanced maritime surveillance to thwart potential attacks on India-bound merchant vessels and has deployed an unprecedented 10 frontline warships in the region stretching from the north and central Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Lanka vessel saved

The Indian Navy on Tuesday said it also helped in rescuing a Sri Lankan fishing vessel from pirates off the Somalian coast in a coordinated operation.

“In a coordinated multilateral response to the hijacking of a Sri Lankan fishing vessel, the Indian Navy in collaboration with Seychelles Defence Forces and Sri Lanka Navy successfully intercepted and rescued the hijacked vessel,” the navy said in a statement.

A hijacking incident was reported onboard the Sri Lankan-flagged fishing trawler Lorenzo Putha 04 about 955nm east of Mogadishu, Somalia. Three pirates had boarded and hijacked the fishing trawler on January 27. The Indian Navy deployed INS Sharda on January 28 and also tasked HALE Sea Guardian to locate and intercept the hijacked fishing vessel.

“Additionally, efficient operational coordination and information sharing through the Sri Lanka and Seychelles International Liaison Officers at IFC IOR, New Delhi, resulted in the interception of the hijacked fishing vessel by SCGS Topaz in Seychelles EEZ on 29 Jan 24,” the navy said.

The three pirates surrendered to the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG). All six crew members were safe and the vessel was being escorted to Mahe, Seychelles.