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The Indian Navy on Thursday said it had foiled a piracy attempt on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden after a mission-deployed stealth frigate INS Trikand intercepted the ship, deployed Marine Commandos (MARCOS) onboard and secured the vessel.
The incident involved MV Golden Arsenal, a St. Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged bulk carrier, which came under an attempted pirate attack while sailing from Aden, Yemen. The ship was carrying 21 crew members, including one Indian national.
According to the Navy, the vessel reported the attack while it was about 300 nautical miles east-northeast of Djibouti. The alert was relayed through the Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), following which INS Trikand, already deployed in the region on an anti-piracy mission, was diverted to intercept the merchant ship.
The crew reported damage to the bridge superstructure and adjoining compartments during the attack but managed to take shelter inside the ship’s citadel, where they remained safe until naval assistance arrived.
On Thursday morning, a MARCOS boarding team from INS Trikand boarded the vessel to secure it and assess the situation. After carrying out a comprehensive search, the commandos found no suspicious personnel onboard, indicating that the pirates had fled before the warship reached the scene.
Once the vessel was declared safe, the crew emerged from the citadel and, together with the Navy’s boarding team, began assessing the extent of the damage.
The operation was supported by an Indian Navy P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft, which conducted aerial surveillance and reconnaissance over the area to enhance maritime domain awareness and support the anti-piracy mission.
Following the sanitisation of the vessel and the elimination of the immediate threat, INS Trikand concluded the operation. MV Golden Arsenal has since resumed its voyage.
The successful intervention is the latest in a series of Indian Navy anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and adjoining waters, where Indian warships have maintained a sustained presence to protect commercial shipping from piracy and other maritime security threats. The Navy said it remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant vessels and seafarers in the Indian Ocean Region, irrespective of their nationality.
Team BharatShakti
