“We will continue to work together to protect the lives of our crew.”
Sophia:
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel on Sunday expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy for its successful rescue operation to regain control of a hijacked merchant ship and its 17 crew members, including seven Bulgarian nationals, in the Arabian Sea.
She thanked the Indian Navy for its support and reiterated its cooperation to protect the lives of the sailors.
The Bulgarian Foreign Minister said in an interview with Work together to protect the lives of our crew.”
C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force, along with MARCOS of the Indian Navy, on Saturday conducted a precision airborne mission against two ships in the Arabian Sea in support of the ongoing anti-piracy Operation Sankalp.
The operation was to rescue the crew of the bulk carrier “MV Ruen” which was recently hijacked by Somali pirates near Socotra Island in Yemen.
The Indian Air Force welcomed the operation in a post on ation in support of the ongoing anti-piracy operation ‘Operation Sankalp’ in the Arabian Sea with the Indian Navy MARCOS.
“Flight of nearly 10 hours to reach an area 2,600 kilometers off the coast of India on a mission to rescue the crew of the bulk carrier MV Ruen. The ship was recently hijacked by Somali pirates near the Yemeni island of Socotra. With @indiannavy Seamless cooperation The Indian Air Force added that the mission was very successful and all 17 crew members on board recovered safely.
The Indian Navy foiled a piracy attempt on the MV Ruen, which had been controlled by Somali pirates since December last year, safely evacuating 17 crew members and forcing 35 pirates to surrender.
The mission was carried out by the aircraft carrier INS Kolkata on Saturday, the Indian Navy said in a statement.
“Calcutta is a mission deployed in the Arabian Sea. Through sustained high-tempo operations, it intercepted the pirate ship MV Ruen on March 16, thwarting the plot of Somali pirates to hijack ships transiting the area. It was hijacked in December 2023 and has been has been under the control of Somali pirates,” the statement read.
Earlier, the Navy reported that the Indian warship “Calcutta” successfully forced all 35 pirates to surrender, ensuring the safe evacuation of 17 crew members on the pirate ship and no one was injured.
During the 40-hour rescue operation, the Kolkata intercepted the pirate ship Roon, which was under attack nearly 2,600 kilometers away from the Indian coast, and forced the pirate ship to stop through a calibration operation.
To safely rescue the crew and take full control of the wrecked vessel, the operation was supported by the Indian warship INS Subhadra, High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE RPA) unmanned aerial vehicle, P8I maritime patrol aircraft and MARCOS PRAHAR aircraft airdropped by the Indian Air Force. -17 aircraft.
The ship was then disinfected for illegal weapons, ammunition and contraband.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
