Navy repaired merchant vessel midsea, escorted it to Oman port

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24

On March 16, when the Indian Navy freed a crew of 17 on board a hijacked merchant vessel, MV Ruen, from pirates, it had a task at hand. The 35 pirates captured during the operation were brought to Mumbai yesterday aboard INS Kolkata.

The key decision was what to do with the crew and the merchant vessel. At first, the 17 of the crew were duly shifted to Indian Naval ships. The Navy then sent in its specialists to sanitised the ship and ensure it had no arms, ammunition or contraband.

It also had to assess seaworthiness and carry out some essential repairs with the help of a naval technical team to ready the merchant ship for further voyage.

M/s Navibulgar, the shipping company that owned the vessel, requested that the captain and crew be reinstated on MV Ruen. The crew was again shifted mid-sea from INS Kolkata to MV Ruen.

MV Ruen then proceeded under own power to the next port of Salalah in Oman. The destination was decided by the company. Indian Navy warship INS Subhadra escorted the merchant vessel to ensure its security against another possible pirate attack.

INS Kolkata, in an operation lasting over 40 hours that commenced in the early hours of March 15, intercepted MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea based on inputs that the ship was being used as a ‘Mother Ship’ for undertaking piracy attacks and hijacking vessels.

INS Kolkata directed the pirate ship to stop for investigation in accordance with international law, especially the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Sea. The pirate ship refused to comply and instead opened fire. INS Subhadra joined INS Kolkata in the rescue operation. Further, the Navy undertook long range deployment and airdropped Marine Commandos over the sea in vicinity of the pirate ship using a C-17 aircraft in coordination with the Indian Air Force.

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