Indian Navy will ensure piracy is prevented: Admiral Hari Kumar
Vowing further naval interventions to secure distressed shipping assets on the high seas, Navy Chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar on Saturday flagged concerns over the resurfacing of piracy as an ‘industry’ to gain from ‘disorder in the region’.
Addressing media persons on the completion of hundred days of naval operations against operations for anti-drone, antimissile, and anti-piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea, Admiral Hari Kumar said the Navy will continue taking affirmative action to prevent such incidents, adding that ‘ Operation Sankalp’, the naval operation to secure the crew of Bulgaria-flagged merchant vessel MV Ruen, has broken the myth of short and swift operations and stressed the need for sustained interventions to ensure the safety and stability of shipping assets in the oceans.
“Piracy has resurfaced as an industry to gain from the disorder in the region. We will take affirmative action to prevent that,” the Navy chief said at the press conference on Saturday.
“Operation Sankalp has broken the myth of short and swift operations and stressed the need for sustained operations to ensure safety and stability in the oceans. The pace of operations is quite high and we have 11 submarines and 30 warships oper
ating in different parts of the ocean to ensure coverage of all areas of interest,” Admiral Hari Kumar added.
“We have deployed 10 warships in the entire region for anti-piracy, anti-missile, and anti-drone operations under
Operation Sankalp. The task is to ensure safety and stability for merchant vessels carrying cargo to reach shores safely. Because they are deployed there, they can respond to attacks or incidents as first responders,” the Navy chief added.
The Navy chief noted that no Indian vessels were targeted by pirates, adding that the Houthis were targeting vessels linked to Israel. “None of our Indian vessels have been targeted. The Houthis have been targeting vessels with linkages to Israel. They are also targeting ships with flags of Western countries like the UK and the US. We are getting involved because we have Indian crew on almost all these ships,” he said.
Calling the Maritime Piracy Act 2022 a ‘great enabler’, Admiral Hari Kumar added that it has now enabled the force to visit, board and search pirated ships. “The Maritime Piracy Act 2022 has now enabled us to visit, board and search pirated ships. This act is a great enabler. In the last 100 days, we may have made at least 1000 such boardings,” he said.
“Details of the ships can be found with the automatic identification system and it is easy for Houthis in Yemen, and that is how they have been targeting the ships through missiles and drones. Drones are also being used to monitor the ships,” the
Navy chief added.
Earlier, on Saturday, as many as 35 Somali pirates, who were captured by the Indian Navy, were handed over to Mumbai Police after due formalities of Customs and Immigration.
Visuals from the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, showed the pirates standing in a queue as Mumbai Police assigned them chest numbers. The operation involved a navy destroyer, a patrol ship, an Indian Air Force C17 transporter flying more than 1,500 miles to airdrop marine commandos, a naval drone, a reconnaissance drone and a P-8 surveillance jet, the Indian Navy release said.
The Indian Navy has completed hundred days of naval operations against operations for anti-drone, anti-missile, and anti-piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea