Continuing the Indian Navy’s support missions, an Indian naval warship and a long-range maritime patrol aircraft provided aid to a Bangladeshi cargo vessel after it was seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean.

When pirates attacked the Bangladeshi-flagged vessel MV Abdullah with a cargo of around 55,000 tonnes of coal, it was traveling from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“Indian Navy’s Mission deployed warship and an LRMP responded to a piracy attack on MV Abdullah, a Bangladeshi-flagged vessel, whilst en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates,” the Indian Navy said in a statement on social media platform X.

"On receipt of intimation, the Long-Range Maritime Patrol (LRMP) aircraft was immediately deployed & on locating the MV (Abdullah) in the evening of 12 March, attempted to establish communication to ascertain the status of ship's crew members. However, no response was received from the ship," said the Indian Navy.

Later, the safety of the hijacked crew members (all Bangladesh nationals) was ascertained, and the warship continued to stay in the close vicinity of the MV Abdullah till its arrival in the territorial waters of Somalia.

"The Mission Deployed warship on Maritime Security Operations, which had also been diverted, intercepted the hijacked MV on the morning of 14 March. The safety of the MV's crew (all Bangladesh nationals) held hostage by the armed pirates was ascertained and the Indian Navy warship continued to maintain in close vicinity of the MV till its arrival in the territorial waters of Somalia," it added.

Incidents of hijackings near Somalia since December have raised worries about a potential resurgence of pirate raids in the Indian Ocean, coinciding with a separate increase in assaults carried out by Yemen's Houthi rebels supported by Iran.

"A group of 15-20 Somali pirates hijacked the ship," said Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, which owns the MV Abdullah vessel.

Over the past two months, the Indian Navy has provided support to numerous merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean following incidents of piracy attacks.

Earlier this month, the Indian Navy successfully prevented a piracy attempt on an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel carrying a crew of 11 Iranians and eight Pakistanis along the East coast of Somalia. In January, the Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued 19 Pakistani crew members from a fishing vessel after it was attacked by pirates off the east coast of Somalia. On January 5th, the Navy also foiled an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea, rescuing all its crew members.

Image source: X