Somali Pirates Capture 120 Indian Sailors

plugwater

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2009
Messages
4,154
Likes
1,081
Somali pirates capture 120 Indian sailors

Somali pirates have struck again. In the biggest hijacking ever, they captured 8 boats taking nearly 120 Indian sailors hostage. The sailors were on their way from Somalia to Dubai.

TIMES NOW spoke to the relatives of one of the sailors, who said they have appealed to the government for help in securing their release.

Meanwhile, sources said that the hijacked Indian vessels have been traced near Seychelles.

The sailors belong to the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat. They had anchored last in the rebel territory of Kismayo in Somalia where they loaded cargo into their boats. But moments after leaving the port, pirates captured them. So far, the pirates have not asked for any ransom.

Sources in the Indian Navy have confirmed the news of the hijack and have said efforts are on in full swing to contact the pirates and get the Indians back safely.

India has remained a target within the pirates' radar. Somali Pirates have many a time attacked Indian ships and taken Indians crew members hostage.

On December 23 last year, an Indian ship named M T Agrasen was attacked by armed pirates just 300 nautical miles off the Indian coast of Maharashtra. The 41 member crew, however, managed to fight off the attack and thwart the attempted seige.

On December 15, pirates seized Indian vessel Laxmi Sagar off the Somalian coast and took 10 members on board hostage.

Indians were taken hostage on October 24 along with two Burmese nationals when a Panama flagged ship Al Khaliq was hijacked. The ship was however released later after receiving a ransom of 3.1 million dollars.

In September 2008, a merchant ship, MT Stolt Valor was hijacked along with 18 Indian sailors on aboard. However, after intense government pressure, the ship was finally released after a 60-day ordeal.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...e-120-Indians-sailors/articleshow/5741365.cms
 

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ure-dhows-120-missing/articleshow/5744991.cms

Somali pirates capture dhows, 120 missing
31 Mar 2010, 0223 hrs IST,ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: Around 120 Indian sailors are reported missing after Somali pirates seized seven Indian vessels off the coast of Somalia.

The Centre was trying to find out the whereabouts of Indians and the number of seized dhows. The sailors are from Gujarat and were on their way from a port in the rebel territory of Kismayo, in Somalia, to Dubai when the pirates struck. The information about the seven dhows and the Indians was obtained by the Navy from the crew members of an Indian ship who were released recently by pirates.

“On Saturday afternoon, we got intimation that seven or eight vessels registered with us have been hijacked by Somali pirates,” said Mr Kasam Ali, president of the merchant vessels association. “Eighty to 100 people who were on these vessels are missing.”

Piracy has continued to grow off the Somalian coast inspite of international efforts to curb the menace. Pirates have branched off deeper into the Indian Ocean. Indian Navy commandos had stopped a pirate attack on a Greek carrier off the Indian coast this month.

India is also among a number of countries that has its Navy patrolling the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The waterway carries a third of the world’s fuel supplies. At present, India has one warship, INS Beas, in the Gulf of Aden to escort merchant vessels back and forth.

Over 700 merchant vessels have been escorted across the Gulf of Aden since late 2008. With pirates targeting ships deep in the Indian Ocean, India has also been sending patrol vessels near Seychelles. In December, M V Agrasen’s crew staved of an attack off the Maharashtra coast.
 
Last edited:

Pintu

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
12,082
Likes
348
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...om-Somali-pirates-yet/articleshow/5745102.cms

No ransom demand from Somali pirates yet
TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES, Mar 31, 2010, 04.14am IST

AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI: While a local shipping body has received news about the capture of more than 100 sailors from Gujarat by Somali pirates, it was yet to receive any official word and that they were trying to establish contact with the sailors via their sources in Dubai. "The families of the missing sailors are anxious and we're reassuring them," said Kasam Ali, president of the Kutch Vahanvati Association.

Pirates haven't demanded any ransom yet and experts say that they usually hijack such vessels to use them as decoys. "They hardly get to loot anything of great worth from these vessels. Their main purpose is to use these vessels so that the patrolling navies don't recognize and shoot them down," a sailor said.

Somali pirates are known to use fast-moving skiffs to pull alongside their prey and board with ladders and grappling hooks. The presence of warships from the EU, US, China, Japan, Russia, India and other nations has managed to thwart some attacks on merchant and leisure ships in the Gulf of Aden. Somali pirates, who have over the past year drifted away from heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden, have been targeting one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.
 

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top