By Fatma Younis
Indian naval forces have freed an Iranian fishing vessel and its crew of 20 after a hijacking off the coast of Somalia, the Indian Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The rescue of the Azini was completed on Monday in the Arabian Sea, more than 3,000 kilometers from Mumbai, following an operation that lasted over 48 hours.
Operation Details
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the operation involved a warship, a maritime surveillance aircraft, and marine commandos, with an Indian Air Force C-17 airdropping additional commandos. The ministry reported the operation ended without casualties or injuries, though it did not clarify whether that accounted for everyone aboard or only the rescued crew. A Puntland Maritime Police Force official said Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates, confiscated their mobile phones, and released them. The suspects and two Somali security guards later came ashore at Bandar Bayla in northeastern Somalia, with three individuals sustaining minor injuries.
Hijacking and Piracy Context
The Azini was hijacked on October 29 between Bandar Bayla and Hafun. A Puntland maritime police officer had earlier said the vessel carried 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards, a figure that differs from India's rescue count of 20. Indian forces tracked the vessel by sea and air before securing it, citing concern that pirates could use the boat as a floating base for attacks on commercial ships. Regional authorities in Puntland said they learned of the rescue only after it had taken place.
Renewed Piracy Threat
The hijacking follows a resurgence of Somali piracy across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. By August, pirates had seized six commercial vessels since April, including the oil products tanker Sibu 1, captured about 252 kilometers east of al-Mukalla, Yemen. In September, Puntland authorities reported that pirates killed five crew members of the tanker MT Honour 25 before security forces recovered it; 16 suspected pirates were detained. The renewed piracy adds to shipping risks in a region already disrupted by the Iran war, with attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and threats by Yemen's Houthi rebels against Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait complicating oil transport routes and driving up tanker costs.
