Indian naval forces successfully freed an Iranian fishing boat and its crew of 20 after a rescue operation lasting more than 48 hours off the coast of Somalia, according to the Indian Defense Ministry.
The Rescue Operation
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stated that the rescue of the vessel, named the Azini, concluded on Monday in the Arabian Sea at a distance of more than 3,000 kilometers from Mumbai.
A local official with the Puntland Maritime Police Force, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates, confiscated their mobile devices, and set them free.
The suspects and two Somali security guards subsequently arrived ashore at Bandar Bayla located in northeastern Somalia, the official reported. Three individuals among the group arriving ashore sustained minor injuries, though the official refrained from clarifying whether they were guards or suspects, or the nature of their injuries.
India’s ministry reported that the mission concluded with zero casualties or injuries, though it did not clarify whether this assessment applied exclusively to the rescued crew or included everyone on board. Furthermore, it remained uncertain whether the crew stayed aboard the vessel or were transferred to another location.
The rescue mission utilized a warship, a maritime surveillance aircraft, and marine commandos. According to the ministry, an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft also airdropped additional commandos into the area.
The Azini was originally hijacked on October 29 in the waters between Bandar Bayla and Hafun. A Puntland maritime police officer noted on Sunday that the vessel transported 21 Iranian crew members alongside two Somali security guards, though the discrepancy between this count and the 20 rescued individuals reported by India could not be immediately explained.
The ministry explained that Indian forces monitored the vessel using both sea and air assets prior to securing it, noting existing concerns that pirates might utilize the boat as a floating base to launch attacks against commercial shipping.
The Puntland official stated that regional authorities only became aware of the rescue operation after it had already concluded.
Broader Piracy and Shipping Risks
This hijacking occurred amid a broader resurgence of Somali piracy activity spanning the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean. By August, pirates had seized six commercial vessels starting from April, with several incidents occurring far away from Somalia’s coastline.
Among those incidents was the seizure of the oil products tanker Sibu 1, which was captured roughly 252 kilometers east of al-Mukalla in Yemen.
In September, authorities in Puntland announced that pirates had killed five crew members aboard the tanker MT Honour 25 prior to security forces reclaiming the vessel. That particular tanker had remained captive since April, and authorities confirmed the detention of 16 suspected pirates.
This renewed piracy compounds maritime shipping hazards in an area already impacted by the conflict involving Iran. Incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and threats issued by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels directed at Saudi-linked shipping via Bab el-Mandeb have further complicated regional oil transport pathways.
These disruptions have extended voyage times and increased tanker operational expenses, forcing certain oil shipments to reroute around Africa and face transit delays lasting up to an additional month.
While international naval task forces and enhanced maritime security measures drastically diminished Somali piracy over the preceding decade, these recent hijackings have revived worries surrounding the ongoing threat.
