Indian Navy Takes Quick Action Responding To Hijacked Vessel In Arabian Sea
In the early hours of December 15, the Indian Navy Warship responded to a distress call from a cargo carrier in the Arabian Sea, MV Ruen, a Maltese vessel which had raised the alarm. In swift response, the navy aircraft has flown over and is continuously monitoring the hijacked vessel, which now seems to be moving towards the coastline of Somalia.
On the X handle of the spokesperson of navy, this has been posted with the images. It said that a mayday message was received from a Malta flagged vessel, MV Ruen and that the Indian Naval Maritime Patrol Aircraft & warship which was on antipiracy duty had quickly diverted to respond to the message.
The Indian Navy said that the hijacked vessel has 18 crew members on board and that a mayday message was sent on the “UKMTO portal, PM 14 Dec 23, indicating boarding by approx six unknown personnel.” It also said that, “responding swiftly to the developing situation, Indian Navy diverted its Naval Maritime Patrol aircraft undertaking surveillance in the area and its warship on Anti Piracy patrol in the Gulf Aden to locate & assist MV Ruen.” The PIB statement further read, “the Indian Navy remains committed to being a first responder in the region and ensuring safety of merchant shipping, along with international partners and friendly foreign countries.” The situation is currently being monitored by all the agencies together.
#IndianNavy's Mission Deployed platforms respond to #hijacking in the #ArabianSea#MayDay msg from Malta Flagged Vessel MV Ruen on @UK_MTO portal – boarding by unknown personnel
Indian Naval Maritime Patrol Aircraft & warship on #AntiPiracy patrol immediately diverted@EUNAVFOR pic.twitter.com/mtXqjytSfF
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 16, 2023
EUNAVFOR, the European Union Naval Force has also released a statement on its X handle with images, which said, “based on first information available on MV RUEN, #OperationAtalanta Flagship ESPS #VICTORIA is proceeding fast towards the alleged pirate-hijacked vessel to gain more awareness & evaluate following actions, also in coordination with @CMF_Bahrain.”
CMF Bahrain is a Combined Maritime Forces, which is a 38-nation maritime partnership. This partnership is based in Bahrain and is to the undertaking of counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and regional cooperation.
MV Ruen is a Maltese vessel; Republic of Malta is an archipelago located at the southern Europe.
Mayday message is a signal for help, letting others know that the vessel is in serious difficulty and requires immediate help.
Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are known as notorious routes for pirates. The last major hijacking incident was reported the year 2017, when the vessel Aris came under Somali pirate’s attack.
