Indian Navy Frees Iranian Fishing Vessel Hijacked Off Somalia

By: Hamdan Jumma

NEW DELHI, Nov. 3 — Indian naval forces have rescued 20 crew members from an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by armed pirates off Somalia, India’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The operation to free the Azini lasted more than 48 hours and ended without casualties or injuries, the ministry said in a statement.

The European Union’s Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean separately confirmed that the vessel had been liberated by anti-piracy military forces.

“This incident is now considered closed,” the centre said in an updated alert.

India deployed a warship supported by a maritime reconnaissance aircraft to locate and track the vessel. Additional marine commandos were deployed through a precision airdrop from an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft before naval forces secured the fishing boat, the defence ministry said.

The Azini was reportedly seized on October 29 off Somalia’s eastern coast, according to the maritime security centre. An earlier alert warned that the vessel was approaching a shipping traffic lane and could potentially be used as a base for further pirate attacks. The warning did not establish that such attacks had occurred.

Earlier reporting by The Associated Press, citing a Puntland maritime police officer, put the number aboard at 23, including 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards. India’s rescue announcement gave a figure of 20 crew members without explaining the difference.

(Reporting by Horn Diplomat Desk; Editing by Desk)