The Indian Navy stated in a statement on Friday that it had reacted to an SOS from a bulk carrier flying the flag of Bangladesh that had been taken over by pirates off the coast of Somalia earlier this week and had taken its crew of twenty-three hostage.
Around lunchtime on Tuesday, the MV Abdullah was assaulted while carrying a shipment of 55,000 tonnes of coal from the capital of Mozambique, Maputo, to the United Arab Emirates, according to the business.
“As soon as the notification was received, the Long-Range Maritime Patrol (LRMP) aircraft was sent out, and after identifying the MV (Abdullah) in the evening of March 12, they made an effort to get in touch with the crew to find out how they were doing. Nevertheless, the ship did not respond, according to the Indian Navy.
“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.
Hijackings off Somalia since December have fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates, coming on top of a separate surge in attacks launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
“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.
Houthi militia, who control a part of Yemen, have launched scores of drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeting what they deem to be Israeli-linked vessels in response to Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
International naval forces have been diverted north from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea, sparking fears that pirates will exploit the security gap.
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