The Indian Navy said it had freed an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by nine armed pirates in the Arabian Sea on Friday. The ship's crew is unharmed, reports "Reuters".
According to a navy statement late on Friday, the fishing vessel Al-Kambar 786 was southwest of the Yemeni island of Socotra on March 28 when it was reported to have been taken over by pirates.
The ship was intercepted by INS Sumedha and INS Trishul, which led to "more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures" which forced the pirates to surrender.
The crew consisted of 23 Pakistani nationals who are safe, the statement said.
"The Indian Navy is currently conducting a thorough sanitary and seaworthiness inspection of the fishing vessel to escort it to a safe area to resume normal fishing activities," the statement said.
India has responded to 18 incidents so far by deploying 21 ships on a rotational basis to protect shipping in the Red Sea. Taking advantage of the tension due to attacks by the Yemeni Houthis, pirates, not only Somali, have increased their attacks. Since November, there have already been over 20 hijackings of ships by pirates. Among them was the Bulgarian ship "Rouen", which ten days ago was released again by the Indian fleet.