INS Sumitra carries out its second successful anti-piracy operation and rescues 19 crew members and a vessel from armed Somali pirates
The Indian Naval vessel INS Sumitra, after successfully preventing a piracy attempt on the Iranian fishing vessel Iman, has executed another anti-piracy mission off the East Coast of Somalia. In this operation, it rescued the Fishing Vessel Al Naeemi and its crew, comprising 19 Pakistani nationals, from a group of 11 Somali pirates.
The Indian Navy’s indigenous Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sumitra, was deployed for Anti-Piracy and Maritime Security Operations in the vicinity of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. On the evening of 28 January, the warship responded to a distress call reporting the hijacking of an Iranian-flagged Fishing Vessel (FV) Iman, where pirates had boarded the vessel and taken the crew as hostages. INS Sumitra successfully intercepted the fishing vessel using standard operating procedures and employing coercive tactics, according to an Indian Navy statement. In the early hours of 29 January, the ship and its crew consisting of 17 Iranian nationals) were safely rescued. Following the rescue operation, FV Iman was thoroughly sanitized and released for onward transit.