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It is roughly estimated that the hijacking and pirate activity had led to a loss of USD 7 billion, besides widespread insecurity while navigating cargoes through that route.
According to an Indian Naval officer, India will prosecute 35 Somali pirates arrested during an operation to free a hijacked vessel off the Somalian coast recently. Hijackers will be arriving on Indian shores shortly, where they will be handed over to Indian law enforcement authorities. There were reports that India was only trying to free the hijacked ship and abandoning the disarmed pirates at sea without charging them.
The Indian Navy seized the Malta-flagged commercial ship, MV Ruen. The vessel had been commandeered by pirates in the Northern Arabian Sea on December 14. Indian authorities maintain that since 2017, this was the first time a commercial ship was hijacked. Hijacking off the Somali Coast was common in 2011. It is roughly estimated that the hijacking and pirate activity had led to a loss of USD 7 billion, besides widespread insecurity while navigating cargoes through that route.
Since December, India has deployed about a dozen boats to police the Gulf of Aden to stop Houthi attacks on commercial ships with ties to Israel. The US and British patrolling is also done at this stretch of the ocean, where cargoes move in large quantities. The Houthis who govern most of Yemen have vowed to continue targeting ships transiting the Gulf of Aden until Israel stops what they have termed as a genocide in Gaza. The vessel was first boarded by pirates on December 14 near the Yemeni island of Socotra, around 240 kilometers (150 miles) off Somalia.
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Activity from Somali pirates has dropped in recent years. But there has been growing concern about the attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Earlier this week, a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship with 23 crew members was hijacked by pirates off Somalia. A European Union vessel was tracking the ship. India recently began monitoring international waters, including anti-piracy, which can potentially affect its flags.
