Indian naval warship sinks Somali pirate vessel

Indian Navy’s warship, the INS Tabar, which is currently in the Gulf of Aden for Anti-Piracy Surveillance and Patrol Operations, has successfully sunk a pirate vessel off the Somali coast.

According to an official release, the Indian warship spotted a pirate vessel in the South West of Salalah (Oman) on Tuesday evening with two speedboats on tow. Pirates in the vessel threatened to blow up the Indian Naval ship and after a few rounds of retaliation fire, INS had opened fire in self defence, which resulted in fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard.

‘Two speed boats were observed breaking off to escape. The ship chased the first boat which was later found abandoned. The other boat managed to escape into darkness,’ the release added.

Earlier on November 11, the Indian navy had foiled a piracy attempt on two merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. INS Tabar has been patrolling and is on an Anti-Piracy mission since November 2 following repeated cases of hijacking of Indian ships and their crew by heavily armed Somali pirates.

So far, with timely intervention the naval ship has successfully escorted approximately 35 ships, including a number of foreign flagged vessels, safely during their transit through pirate infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.

It is under Indian government’s guidelines to protect its sea borne trade and also to instil confidence among the seafaring community.

Armed with supersonic BrahMos (PJ-10) anti-ship cruise missiles, INS Tabar is the third of the Talwar-class frigates of Indian naval wing.