Indian Navy destroy pirate mother ship
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard destroyed a pirate mother ship, the Prantalay, that had been used to attack a CMA CGM vessel in the South Arabian Sea and arrested 15 pirates, according to local reports.
The Indian forces rescued 20 fishermen from Thailand and Myanmar being held hostage after pirates hijacked the Prantalay last April, the Indian newspaper The Hindu reported.
Pirates had been using the Prantalay since the hijacking to launch attacks on merchant vessels passing along the shipping lanes off the island chain.
The Indian forces destroyed the Prantalay after a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft thwarted an attack earlier Friday by two skiffs from the mother ships that were closing in on CMA CGM Verdi, a Bahama-flagged container ship, about 300 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep group of islands, off the coast of southern India.
“Seeing the aircraft, the skiffs immediately aborted their piracy attempt and dashed towards the mother vessel Prantalay, which hurriedly hoisted the two skiffs onboard and set a westerly course to escape from the area,” the Indian Navy said in a statement.. “This action cleared all doubts of Prantalay being used by pirates as a mother vessel.
“While the Coast Guard and Navy Dorniers continued to track the Prantalay, the Indian Navy ship Cankarso, a recently commissioned water jet fast attack craft, which was already deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, was directed to intercept and investigate Prantalay,” the Navy said.
On Friday evening, the Cankarso approached Prantalay and tried to establish communication, but the vessel did not respond and continued steaming westwards in the hope of escaping.
The Navy said the Cankarso fired a warning shot well ahead of the bows of Prantalay “in keeping with internationally accepted norms”. But the Prantalay opened fire on INS Cankarso. The warship returned limited fire, igniting a blaze on the Prantalay and causing the crew to jump overboard, the Navy said.
The Cankarso rescued the 20 fishermen who had been hostage for several months and captured 15 pirates. The Cankarso was later joined by two other Indian Navy ships, the Kalpeni and the Sankalp.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships and aircraft are in the area searching for any other fishermen and pirates, the statement said. Defense of CMA CGM vessel leads to move against pirate ship
In addition to the anti-piracy patrols being sustained in the Gulf of Aden since Oct 2008, the Navy and the Coast Guard have been patrolling the waters west of the Lakshadweep Islands in the last two months. The patrols have helped cut pirate attacks by 75 percent since December.
The Indian forces rescued 20 fishermen from Thailand and Myanmar being held hostage after pirates hijacked the Prantalay last April, the Indian newspaper The Hindu reported.
Pirates had been using the Prantalay since the hijacking to launch attacks on merchant vessels passing along the shipping lanes off the island chain.
The Indian forces destroyed the Prantalay after a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft thwarted an attack earlier Friday by two skiffs from the mother ships that were closing in on CMA CGM Verdi, a Bahama-flagged container ship, about 300 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep group of islands, off the coast of southern India.
“Seeing the aircraft, the skiffs immediately aborted their piracy attempt and dashed towards the mother vessel Prantalay, which hurriedly hoisted the two skiffs onboard and set a westerly course to escape from the area,” the Indian Navy said in a statement.. “This action cleared all doubts of Prantalay being used by pirates as a mother vessel.
“While the Coast Guard and Navy Dorniers continued to track the Prantalay, the Indian Navy ship Cankarso, a recently commissioned water jet fast attack craft, which was already deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, was directed to intercept and investigate Prantalay,” the Navy said.
On Friday evening, the Cankarso approached Prantalay and tried to establish communication, but the vessel did not respond and continued steaming westwards in the hope of escaping.
The Navy said the Cankarso fired a warning shot well ahead of the bows of Prantalay “in keeping with internationally accepted norms”. But the Prantalay opened fire on INS Cankarso. The warship returned limited fire, igniting a blaze on the Prantalay and causing the crew to jump overboard, the Navy said.
The Cankarso rescued the 20 fishermen who had been hostage for several months and captured 15 pirates. The Cankarso was later joined by two other Indian Navy ships, the Kalpeni and the Sankalp.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships and aircraft are in the area searching for any other fishermen and pirates, the statement said. Defense of CMA CGM vessel leads to move against pirate ship
In addition to the anti-piracy patrols being sustained in the Gulf of Aden since Oct 2008, the Navy and the Coast Guard have been patrolling the waters west of the Lakshadweep Islands in the last two months. The patrols have helped cut pirate attacks by 75 percent since December.