Indian Navy Liberates Iranian Vessel and Crew After 48-Hour Operation

Indian naval forces completed the rescue of an Iranian fishing vessel and its crew in the Arabian Sea on Monday, according to the country's Defense Ministry.

The operation lasted more than 48 hours and concluded more than 3,000 kilometers from Mumbai, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stated on Tuesday. The ministry reported that the vessel, the Azini, was secured without casualties or injuries among those involved in the operation.

A Puntland Maritime Police Force official told The Associated Press that Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates and confiscated their mobile phones. The pirates were released after the operation and later arrived ashore at Bandar Bayla in northeastern Somalia alongside two Somali security guards. Three individuals sustained minor injuries upon reaching land, though the official did not specify which group the injured belonged to or how they were hurt.

The Azini was hijacked on October 29 between Bandar Bayla and Hafun. A Puntland maritime police officer previously reported that the ship carried 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards at the time of the seizure. India’s rescue figure listed a crew of 20, a discrepancy that remained unexplained as of Tuesday.

The rescue effort deployed a warship, a maritime surveillance aircraft, and marine commandos. An Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft also airdropped additional commandos to assist in securing the vessel. The ministry noted that pirates might have used the boat as a floating base to attack commercial ships.

The hijacking occurred during a resurgence of Somali piracy in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. Since April, pirates have seized six commercial vessels. These incidents included the oil products tanker Sibu 1, taken 252 kilometers east of al-Mukalla, Yemen. In September, authorities recovered the tanker MT Honour 25 after pirates killed five crew members, and they detained 16 suspected pirates in that incident.

Regional authorities in Puntland learned of the rescue only after it was completed. The renewed piracy activity adds to shipping risks in a region already affected by the Iran war. Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and threats from Yemen’s Houthi rebels have complicated oil transport routes, causing some shipments to divert around Africa with journeys lasting up to a month longer.