India recaptures ship from Somali pirates

Three-month ordeal of MV Ruen’s 17 crew ends

An Indian warship backed by other naval vessels and aircraft cornered a hijacked bulk carrier in the Indian Ocean and forced all 35 Somali pirates aboard to surrender and release 17 captive crew members of the merchant ship on Saturday.

The naval ship Kolkata intercepted the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen Friday night some 2,600 kilometers from the Indian coast and used minimal force to neutralize the pirates who opened fire to recapture the ship and rescue the seafarers, ending their three-month ordeal under their Somali captors.

The Indian Navy announced in a post on X the recapture of the ship and rescue of its crew members who were unharmed.

The Bulgarian owner of the Ruen, Navibulgar called the release of its vessel as “a major success not only for us, but for the entire global maritime community.”

“The resolution of this case proves that the security of commercial shipping will not be compromised,” Navibulgar said in a statement.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said it was seeking the “speedy return” of seven rescued Bulgarian crew members. The other crew were nine Myanmar and one Angolan national.

The Indian navy has kept tabs on the MV Ruen since it was seized by Somali pirates 380 nautical miles east of the Yemeni island of Socotra in December.

The pirates, who at the time released one injured Bulgarian sailor into the care of the Indian navy, had taken the MV Ruen and its remaining 17 crew members to Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland, where the Indian navy said it was moored off the city of Bosaso.

India’s military has stepped up anti-piracy efforts in recent months following an uptick in maritime assaults, including in the Arabian Sea and by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels in the Red Sea.

Pirate attacks off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 — with gunmen launching attacks as far as 3,655 kilometers (2,271 miles) from the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean — before falling off sharply in recent years.