Somali pirates News

Indian Navy warship INS Sumedha intercepted the hijacked vessel, FV Al-Kambar, as it was being held captive by pirates.

The operation, which lasted nearly two days, rescued 17 crew members of the vessel MV Ruen without any casualties.

The Indian Navy seized the former Maltese-flagged vessel, rescued 17 hostages and captured 35 armed pirates.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 14,000 on each of them, while directing the government to deport them to Somalia after they serve their prison terms.

There have been at least eight attacks by Somali pirates in recent months and three successful hijackings.

The navies of India and China last month had rescued a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden after it was hijacked by Somali pirates.

Somali troops on Wednesday rescued eight Indians who had been taken hostage two days earlier by pirates near the coastal town of Hobyo.

"Our Galmudug forces attacked and rescued the Indian ship – however, the pirates disappeared with one crew and we are pursuing them," an official said.

China on Monday denied any credit for the Indian Navy for rescuing a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the strategic Gulf of Aden, claiming that its naval ship equipped with a helicopter saved the 19-member crew.

China on Monday claimed full credit for rescuing a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the strategic Gulf of Aden, ignoring Indian Navy's role in the operation.

A Chinese navy ship supported by an Indian navy helicopter thwarted an attack by suspected Somali pirates on a Tuvalu-flagged merchant ship, India's defence ministry said on Sunday.

Last month, Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker, the first commandeering of a vessel since 2012, but released it after a fight with Puntland`s marine force.  

Rampant illegal fishing by foreign trawlers off Somalia`s once pirate-infested coastline is threatening economic gains in the Horn of Africa nation and could push communities back to maritime crime, a report warned Tuesday.