Indian sailors recaptured a hijacked ship from Somali pirates: the crew was released

The Indian Navy recaptured a ship they had captured from Somali pirates and freed the crew. The Bulgarian-owned ship MV Ruen was hijacked in December 2023 in a rare recent incident of Somali piracy.

The Indian Navy said it recaptured a ship from Somali pirates off the coast of India on Saturday, rescuing the crew and ending a three-month hijacking of the bulk carrier MV Ruen, The Guardian reports.

The December 2023 hijacking marked the first time since 2017 that Somali pirates had successfully boarded a cargo ship.

The Indian warship Kolkata “over the past 40 hours, through concerted action, successfully cornered and forced the surrender of all 35 pirates and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members,” the Navy said.

Indian forces intercepted the MV Ruen for the first time on Friday, the Navy said. “The vessel opened fire on a warship that was taking action in accordance with international law, in self-defense and counter-piracy, with the minimum force necessary to neutralize the pirate threat to shipping and seafarers.”

None of the rescued crew members were injured in the operation, which was carried out by several naval vessels along with helicopters and other aircraft, the Navy said.

Bulgarian owner Navibulgar hailed Ruen’s release as “a major success not only for us, but for the entire global maritime community… The resolution of this case proves that the safety of commercial shipping will not be compromised.”

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said it was seeking the “early return” of the seven rescued citizens. The other crew members were nine Myanmar nationals and one Angolan.

The pirate ship was recaptured nearly 1,400 nautical miles, or 2,600 kilometers, off the Indian coast, according to military officials.

The Indian Navy has been tracking the MV Ruen since it was captured by Somali pirates 380 nautical miles east of the Yemeni island of Socotra.

The pirates, who at the time handed over one wounded Bulgarian sailor to the care of the Indian Navy, took the MV Ruen and its remaining 17 crew members to the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland, where the Indian Navy said it was moored off the town of Bosaso.

The Indian military has stepped up efforts to combat piracy in recent months following a surge in attacks at sea, including in the Arabian Sea and by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, The Guardian notes.

Pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked in 2011, with militants launching attacks as far as 3,655 kilometers (2,271 miles) off Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast, before falling sharply in recent years.

The attack on the ship in December 2023 followed a surge in armed attacks from the sea in the Horn of Africa that has not been seen for years. Analysts say Somali piracy poses nowhere near the threat it did in 2011 when navies around the world responded, but the recent surge has raised further concerns about maritime security and shipping at a time when critical trade corridors are offshore. Yemen’s coastline was under siege.

Somali pirates have traditionally sought to capture a “mother ship,” a motorized dhow or fishing trawler capable of traveling long distances where they can attack larger vessels.

Since the Houthi attacks, cargo ships have become more vulnerable to attack as they slow down while awaiting instructions on whether to proceed to the Red Sea, experts say.