Three months later, the liberation.
The Indian Navy announced on Saturday that it had recaptured the ship MV Ruen from Somali pirates off the Indian coast, freeing the crew and ending weeks of hijacking of the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier.
This attack carried out on December 14 380 nautical miles (700 km) east of the Yemeni island of Socotra was the first successful hijacking by Somali pirates since that of the Aris 13 tanker in 2017, itself unprecedented since 2012.
#INSKolkata, in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender & ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members in the evening today #16Mar 24 from the pirate vessel without any injury.#INSKolkata had carried out the … https://t.co/eKxfEdMRES pic.twitter.com/tmQq2fG8yE
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 16, 2024
“Indian Navy thwarts Somali pirates' plans to hijack boats sailing in the region by intercepting ex-MV Ruen,” the Indian Navy wrote on X on Saturday evening.
Crew members safe and sound
An Indian warship, the Kolkata, “in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions, cornered and forced the 35 pirates to surrender,” the navy added.
She said she had carried out "the safe evacuation of the 17 crew members on the evening of today March 16, 24 from the pirates' ship, without any injuries."
Indian forces first intercepted the MV Ruen on Friday, according to the same source.
The pirates then opened fire on the Kolkata, which responded “with the minimum force necessary to neutralize the pirate threat”.
None of the crew members were injured during the operation, which was carried out in coordination with other military ships, helicopters and other aircraft, according to the Indian Navy.
The MV Ruen was recaptured some 1,400 nautical miles, or 2,600 km, from the Indian coast, the same source said.
More and more actions against piracy
The Indian Navy had been monitoring the MV Ruen since its capture by pirates.
At the time, they released an injured sailor and handed him over to the Indian Navy.
They then took the ship and its remaining 17 crew members to the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland, where they anchored in the town of Bosaso.
The Indian army has intensified its actions against piracy in recent months after an increase in maritime attacks, notably in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea by Yemeni Houthi rebels, supported by Iran.
Pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked in 2011, with attacks carried out up to 3,655 km from the coast in the middle of the Indian Ocean, before declining drastically in recent years.
But the hijacking of the MV Ruen followed an outbreak of attacks around the Horn of Africa not seen in years.
The MV Ruen is the most extreme case of a threat which has increased in this area of the Indian Ocean, on a major trade route, underline experts interviewed by AFP, who however judge a large-scale resurgence unlikely.
Since mid-November, Yemeni Houthi rebels have been carrying out attacks in this area on ships linked to Israel, citing retaliation for its war against Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attack.