The Indian Navy said it has rescued a Bulgarian ship MV Ruen that was hijacked by Somali pirates who where using it as mother ship. The 40-hour operation led to the release of 17 sailors and capture of 35 pirates.
The raid came after a protracted standoff over the course of the weekend between the crew of the Indian Navy ship INS Kolkata and 35 pirates on the MV Ruen, who started shooting at Indian soldiers. Pirates had taken control of the Ruen, which belonged to the Bulgarian maritime company Navibulgar, in December.
The Ruen last week sailed farther out to sea after spending months anchored off the coast of Eyl, Somalia. This development led maritime security experts to believe that the pirates intended to use the ship as a base for operations. Larger boats are frequently used by Somalian pirates as “mother ships” from which to launch assaults hundreds of miles offshore.
India’s navy wrote on Saturday on the social media platform X that it had “successfully cornered and coerced all 35 pirates to surrender and ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members . . . from the pirate vessel without any injury”.
The Navy made use of high-altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles, frontline warships INS Kolkata and INS Subhadra, and P-81 maritime patrol aircraft.
The pirates fired at the Indian vessel after making the hasty decision to shoot down one of the drones of the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy deactivated the MV Ruen’s Navaids and steering system in a measured reaction that complied with international law, forcing the ship to come to a stop. Additionally, elite MARCOS commandos were airdropped close to the seized ship, which was about 2600 kilometers from the Indian Coast.
The pirates eventually gave up and surrendered when the Indian warship, which had been occupying the captured ship, engaged in tough talks with them. The rescue effort lasted for over forty hours. The Indian Navy was able to successfully rescue all 17 of the crew members after the 35 pirates surrendered.
According to the Navy, the MV RUEN is being transported to the Indian coast while carrying a substantial load of steel.
