Kolkata: Indian Air Force shared pictures and videos of the joint operation with the Navy in the Arabian Sea. Navy warship INS Kolkata intercepts 35 Somali pirates 17 sailors were rescued.
Indian Air Force airdrops C-17 tactical transport aircraft in a joint operation. A post on social media platform X described the airdrop of IAF Combat Rubberized Raiding Craft (CRRC) boats and Marcos commandos as a “tremendous display of teamwork and integration” between the two forces.
Indian Air Force X wrote, ‘A remarkable display of twinning and integration. The Indian Air Force carried out a perfect airborne drop of C-17 Combat Rubberized Raiding Craft (CRRC) boats in the Arabian Sea with Marcos against pirates’.
The sailors of the bulk carrier MV Rouen were rescued after a 10-hour flight about 2,600 km from the Indian coast. The ship was recently hijacked by Somali pirates near the Yemeni island of Socotra. The Indian Air Force said that 17 sailors stuck on the ship were rescued in a seamless operation with the Indian Navy.
On Saturday, the cargo ship MV Rouen was surrounded by the Indian Navy. A navy spokesman said the Somali pirates on board were asked to surrender. The Indian Navy’s special force Marine Commando Force, known as MARCOS, launched an operation on the ship. In a joint operation, 35 pirates were forced to surrender, the Navy said in a statement. 17 sailors were safely rescued on the evening of March 16.
About 1400 nm (2600 km) off the Indian coast, the MV Rouen was intercepted by the Indian Navy’s warship INS Kolkata. Immediately surrounded by INSU BHADRA, HALE RPA, P8I maritime patrol aircraft and MARCOS. C-17 aircraft were dropped by airdrop.
Incidentally, since December, the Indian Navy has rescued cargo ships from hijacking, attempted hijacking and suspicious situations 17 times at sea. At least a dozen warships have been deployed in the eastern Red Sea to fend off pirates.
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