New Delhi: The Navy Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), emphasising the crackdown on piracy, which has escalated since the early days of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Addressing media persons on the completion of 100 days of anti-drone, anti-missile, and anti-piracy naval operations in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea, under ‘Operation Sankalp’, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar said the Navy will continue taking affirmative action to prevent such incidents.
During this time, the Navy has responded to 18 incidents of missile/drone attack and piracy incidents, including taking proactive action during the hijacking of Malta-flagged Bulk Carrier MV Ruen on 14 December 2023.
Admiral Kumar explained that ‘Operation Sankalp’ primarily aims to safeguard vessels exiting the Persian Gulf. The operation intensified in mid-December following reports of drone and missile attacks, as well as piracy threats. “Once, we got information about vessels being targeted by drones, missiles and then by pirates, we renewed Op Sankalp to Phase II part of it and that’s why we started this around mid-December last year,” he said.
Since December 2023, the Navy has been conducting maritime security operations in three regions — the Gulf of Aden and adjoining areas, the Arabian Sea and off the East Coast of Somalia — deploying over 5,000 personnel, dedicating over 450 ship days with more than 21 vessels, and 900 hours of flying by maritime surveillance aircraft, to mitigate maritime threats.
Its efforts have resulted in the rescue of over 110 individuals, including 45 Indian seafarers, and the escort of 1.5 million tonnes of essential goods like fertilizers and crude oil. Nearly 1,000 boarding operations have been conducted, leading to the seizure of over 3,000 kg of narcotics during this time. To add to that, more than 450 merchant ships have received assurance of the Navy’s protection in the region.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, INS Kolkata returned to Mumbai with 35 apprehended pirates, who were handed over to local police for further legal action according to the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022.
Admiral Kumar stressed that the Anti-Piracy Act, 2022 has been of great help to the Indian Ocean Region. He added that, currently, there are about 10 ships in the entire IOR to take part in all these anti-piracy, anti-hijack, anti-missile and anti-drone operations.
According to him, the deployment will go on till the IOR is safe. “We will ensure that we are deployed there are we will get positive, proactive and affirmative action to ensure that the region is safe and secure,” he added.
Also Read: All about dramatic ops by India on high seas that led to arrest of 35 pirates, rescue of 17 hostages
High-Risk area
According to the Admiral, the Arabian Sea could once again be deemed a ‘High-Risk Area’ (HRA) if notifications issued by London-based insurance companies are to be believed. Insurance rates for shipping containers have gone up by almost 35 to 40 percent, he said, adding that prices were revised to account for risks brought about by regional strife.
Asked by ThePrint whether Arabian Sea will be deemed an HRA again, Admiral Kumar said that the container costs have gone up from $500 to $2,000 plus. Almost 40-50 percent of the companies have started rerouting their ships from the Cape of Good Hope, he added.
The Navy has been involved in anti-piracy operations since 2008. According to Admiral Kumar, piracy has reduced over time. Between 2018 and October 2023 there were hardly any piracy attempts barring one or two, he said.
On why has there been an uptick in piracy operations with an increase in Houthi Rebels’ attacks on merchant vessels, he explained that with the war starting in October along with an attack by Houthis, more forces concentrated towards the Red Sea and some semblance of disorder started happening there, which pirates took as an opportunity to resurface.
“There were about 50-odd multinational ships present in the area, participating in anti-piracy ops. This had helped to reduce the possibility of piracy,” he added.
The Houthis have been targeting any vessel which has links to Israel, either owned, flagged or en route to the Jewish state. They have also been targeting some ships which are flagged with Western countries, like the US and the UK, said the Admiral, asserting that “none of the Indian-flagged vessels had been targeted”.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
Also Read: Piracy gaining ground? Bangladesh-flagged merchant vessel hijacked in Arabian Sea