Piracy attack groups active near the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard on Thursday handed over 28 Somalian pirates, and 24 Thai and Myanmarese fishermen hostages to the Mumbai police after they were captured in a dramatic operation in the Indian Ocean on February 6.
The pirates and the hostages were brought to Mumbai on Wednesday night and were handed over to the police on board ICGS Samar along with the hijacked mother vessel Prantalay-11.
The pirates will now be tried here for violating Indian laws. Three of them were injured in the anti-piracy operations. One of them, who was serious, was given immediate medical attention and is in a stable condition now.
“It is a huge success for the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. Hardly has any other Navy in the world been able to capture 41 pirates alive and release 45 hostages in a matter of seven days in two different operations,” Commodore G. Ashok Kumar, Chief Staff Officer, Operations, Western Naval Command, toldThe Hindu.
However, while the Indian forces have been able to neutralise two pirate groups in the recent past, the attacks in the Indian Ocean region too have been on rise. “As per information available, it is estimated that three piracy attack groups are still active close to the Indian EEZ [Exclusive Economic Zone],” S.P.S Basra, Indian Coast Guard (Region West) Inspector-General, said in a press conference here.

OPERATION ISLAND WATCH

Many Naval and Coast Guard officials acknowledged that such strong steps could be taken because of the Operation Island Watch, launched on December 9 for the intensive patrolling of Indian waters.
“It was initially launched only till January-end, but considering the rising piracy, it has been extended till March 31. It may be extended further,” Mr Ashok Kumar said.
The officials said that in the anti-piracy operation that lasted for nearly four hours at dawn last Sunday, ICGS Samar was disguised as a merchant vessel. “On February 5, we received a message from MT Chios about a piracy attack off the Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands and ICGS Samar and INS Tir were diverted there. On February 6, a suspicious contact was located during the early morning dark hours,” Mr. Basra said.
A Western Naval Command officer later said that ICGS Samar disguised itself as a merchant vessel. This was done by maintaining the speed that merchant vessels generally maintained and keeping the lights on board switched on. “The pirates' skiffs started following ICGS Samar, assuming that it was a merchant vessel. ICGS Samar fired a warning shot, but they fired back. Then we did not give them any chance to negotiate, and fired back,” a Coast Guard officer said.
After the exchange of four rounds of fire, the pirates hoisted the white flag. “But we innovated in the method followed during surrender. Usually, we send some of our personnel on board the mother vessel, but we did not want to risk our chaps' lives. So we asked them to jump in the water and swim upto our boats. Initially, they probably did not understand or they were not willing, but when we started mounting the rockets, they jumped and surrendered,” a senior official said.
The officials said that, after preliminary investigation, poverty seemed the only motive behind the piracy attacks. “One of the pirates told us that his mother had blessed him saying he should come home after hijacking a very big ship. For them, piracy helps them improve their status. They work on commission basis. They are given $100 by the mafia there and provided weapons, and told that they will receive heavy commission after they hijack a ship,” Mr. Singh said.
“They use very cruel tactics. During interrogation, some of the hostages told us that when two of their colleagues died, these pirates kept their dead bodies in the cold storage to scare the other hostages. When the bodies decomposed, they disposed them off,” a Coast Guard officer said.
“In recent times, Somali pirates have mounted attacks within 250-350 Nautical Miles off India and the level of force used by the pirates against the merchant vessel has seen exponential rise, wherein they have become more brutal and attacks are lethal,” Mr. Basra said.
Naval officers said that with the ransom amount hitting the roof, the pirates had now started having more sophisticated weapons, better-equipped skiffs. “In fact, when we apprehended these pirates, they threw 19 AK-47s, two pistols, one rocket launcher and one M-79 shoulder launcher overboard,” said Arun Singh, Commandant (Operations), Coast Guard.
The Indian forces recovered empty cartridges and magazines on board Prantalay-11. They also recovered six cell phones. “The pirates were told that if caught they should throw away the SIM cards in the sea. So there are no SIM cards in the cell phones,” Mr Singh said.

LACK OF LEGISLATION

Senior Naval and Coast Guard officers said that a strong anti-piracy legislation was not yet in place. “Indian anti-piracy legislation is still in draft stage,” an official said, adding that strong international will was required to check piracy and create a stable Somalia.
Naval officers said that the pirates had unsuccessfully tried to hijack Savina Caylyn, the Italian vessel twice. The ship, which has 17 Indian crew-members, was hijacked on February 8 over 500 nautical miles away from the Indian coast.
“They succeeded in their third attempt,” a Coast Guard officer told The Hindu. He said that the merchant vessel was hijacked within 12 hours of being escorted by the Indian forces outside the Indian waters.
“According to the recent information, the ship is heading towards Somalia and is 1,000 nautical miles away from the Indian coastline,” Mr. Basra said.
source:the hindu
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