Somali pirates engage in gun battle with Indian Navy ship

Authorities in Somalia’s Puntland region said on Saturday that Somali pirates who hijacked a cargo ship MV Luen A shootout broke out with an Indian Navy warship in international waters.

Puntland Ports Minister Ahmed Yasin Salah said the pirates allegedly hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier on December 14 and exchanged gunfire with the Indian navy on Friday.

“We received information about the shootout on Friday afternoon,” Salah said. “When we contacted reliable sources, we were informed that there was a shootout between the Indian Navy and Somali pirates.”

Salah said in an interview with VOA’s Somali service, Rune They had been sailing up and down the Somali coast for months and on Friday the Indians intercepted them as they approached another pirate-controlled vessel. MV Abdullah.

It is unclear whether Somali pirates are using the hijacked ships Rune Taking over a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship Abdullah.

this Abdullah On the evening of March 12, a ship carrying 55,000 tons of coal sailed from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to the United Arab Emirates. It was attacked and hijacked by Somali pirates, and 23 crew members were taken hostage.

Somali pirates opened fire on an Indian Navy ship in international waters on Friday, Reuters quoted an Indian Navy spokesman as saying on Saturday.

The navy called on the pirates to surrender and release the ship and any civilians they may have held hostage, Reuters reported.

Salah said his government could not provide details on casualties or whether Indian navy warships succeeded in forcing the pirates to surrender.

until Rune Somali pirates have not successfully hijacked a merchant ship since 2017.

Indian officials said the Indian navy has recorded at least 17 incidents of hijacking, attempted hijacking or suspicious approaches since December.

India deployed at least 12 warships east of the Red Sea in January to guard against piracy and conducted surveys of more than 250 vessels.

The United Nations says Somalia has been plagued by pirate attacks for years, peaking in 2011 when more than 160 attacks were reported off the Somali coast.

Since then, such incidents have declined dramatically, in large part because of the presence of U.S. and allied navies in international waters.

A small number of Somali maritime forces were recently seen patrolling Indian Ocean waters near the country’s capital, Mogadishu, as part of Mogadishu’s ongoing efforts to reestablish its maritime security presence.

Meanwhile, Somalia’s executive and legislative branches last month approved a major ten-year defense and economic cooperation agreement with Turkey.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said that under the agreement, Turkey will build, train and equip the Somali navy and help eliminate threats to the Somali coast “from terrorism, piracy, illegal fishing, toxic dumping and any external aggression.” or threat”.

Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa.