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WorldIndian Ocean

Navy commandos free hijacked fishing vessel off Somalia, all 20 crew safe

Marine commandos airdropped from an IAF C-17 retook the Azini from armed pirates off Somalia's north-east coast after a 48-hour hunt led by INS Kolkata.

From the editorial desk · New DelhiPublished
Indian Navy destroyer INS Kolkata (file photo)
Indian Navy destroyer INS Kolkata (file photo)Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Drace Wilson / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Key points

  1. The Indian Navy freed the fishing vessel Azini and rescued all 20 crew without injury.
  2. MARCOS commandos were airdropped from an IAF C-17 to secure the ship.
  3. The Navy said the vessel could have become a 'mother ship' for more pirate attacks.

The Indian Navy has freed a fishing vessel hijacked by armed pirates off Somalia, rescuing all 20 crew members with no casualties or injuries, after an operation that ran for 48 hours.

The vessel, the Azini, had been seized off Somalia’s north-eastern coast last month. The Navy said the rescue was completed on Monday evening, when marine commandos boarded and secured the ship.

The hunt was led by the guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata, backed by a P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and a Sea Guardian drone. Through constant surveillance the three located the Azini, kept track of it and used non-kinetic measures to stop it from slipping away.

The final step came from the air. Navy commandos, the MARCOS, were airdropped from an Indian Air Force C-17 close to the vessel and took control of it.

The Navy said the Azini could have been turned into a “mother ship” for pirates, a base from which smaller skiffs can strike merchant ships far out at sea. Somali pirate gangs have used captured fishing boats this way before, to reach shipping lanes well beyond the coast.

Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft (file photo)
An IAF C-17 Globemaster III, the transport aircraft from which MARCOS commandos were airdropped.Colin Cooke Photo / Wikimedia

The Navy called the operation a “testament to the Indian Navy’s high operational preparedness” and said it showed its commitment to being the “First Responder and Preferred Security Partner” in the Indian Ocean Region.

The rescue comes at a tense time for shipping across the wider region, with the war involving Iran keeping merchant traffic around the Strait of Hormuz under threat. The Navy has not yet said when or where the 20 crew will be brought ashore.