35 pirates surrender, Malta flagged ship rescued with 17 sailors

International Desk: The Indian Navy has rescued 17 sailors from the cargo ship 'MV Rouen' hijacked by Somali pirates. At that time 35 pirates also surrendered.

The Indian Navy gave this information in a statement on Saturday. News from NDTV.

According to the report, the Indian warship INS Calcutta foiled the hijacking attempt of the pirates through the MV Rouen after a 40-hour operation. It was anchored 2,600 km from the Indian coast. Another Indian ship named INS Subhadra also participated in this operation.

In a post on microblogging site X, the Indian Navy said 35 pirates aboard the Malta-flagged bulk cargo ship MV Rouen surrendered. And the ship was checked for illegal arms, ammunition and drugs.

The ship was hijacked by Somali pirates last December. A Bangladeshi-flagged cargo ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia this week may have been used by pirates as a base, European Union navies said.

On March 4, Bangladesh's SR Shipping's 13-meter deep vessel MV Abdullah left Mozambique's Maputo port for the United Arab Emirates with coal. After this, last Tuesday around 1:30 pm, news came that the ship was hijacked in the Indian Ocean.

Rules for the operation of vessels with armed security guards in the Indian Ocean, which is prone to piracy. Apart from this, various security measures are taken around the ship, including a chain of stars, high-speed water guns. But none of these measures were taken in MV Abdullah, which was in the hands of bandits.

Analysts say that the coal-carrying vessel has a low height above the water, making it easy for pirates to board it. As a result, they took control of the ship without much hindrance.