Ships, Drones, Commandos: How Indian Navy Rescued Hijacked Vessel

In a daring 40-hour operation, the Indian Navy on Saturday coerced 35 Somali pirates to surrender and rescued 17 crew members held hostage on a hijacked ship, the Navy said in a statement.

Indian warship INS Kolkata sailed over 2,600 km and cornered the bulk cargo vessel Ruen which was being used as a pirate ship for three months after it was hijacked on December 14.

The high stakes rescue involved multiple Navy vessels, drones, aircrafts and marine commandos.

As an Indian aircraft approached the hijacked ship, the pirates opened fire at it. In a video shared by the Navy, a pirate is seen walking onto the deck of the ship and aim his gun at the aircraft hovering over the vessel and fire twice.

#IndianNavy thwarts designs of Somali pirates to hijack ships plying through the region by intercepting ex-MV Ruen.

The ex-MV Ruen, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates on #14Dec 23, was reported to have sailed out as a pirate ship towards conducting acts of #piracy on high… pic.twitter.com/gOtQJvNpZb — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 16, 2024

The pirates also attacked a Navy vessel as it intercepted the hijacked vessel.

After being attacked on Friday, Navy switched its stance to self-defence and demanded the pirates surrender and release the hostages.

On Saturday, the Navy successfully took control of the ship with support from patrol vessel INS Subhadra, High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE RPA) drones and P8I maritime patrol aircraft.

A squad of 8 marine commandos (MARCOS PRAHARs) were then airdropped by a C-17 aircraft onto the vessel to detain the pirates and safely evacuate the crew.

No injuries were sustained during the operation, the Navy said, adding that the ship had been checked for illegal arms, ammunition and contraband.

"#IndianNavy thwarts designs of Somali pirates to hijack ships plying through the region by intercepting ex-MV Ruen. The ex-MV Ruen, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates on #14Dec 23, was reported to have sailed out as a pirate ship towards conducting acts of #piracy on high seas. The #IndianNavy remains committed to #maritimesecurity & safety of seafarers in the region," the Navy said in a statement.