By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : An Indian frigate has sunk a pirate “mother ship” in the Gulf of Aden after coming under attack, the Indian Navy said on Wednesday.
“The pirates fired at the INS Tabar, which is patrolling the waters off the Somali coast. The ship retaliated and sank the pirate vessel,” an Indian Navy official said.
The Times of India said the pirate ship, accompanied by several speed boats, was sunk when it attempted to ram the Tabar. No casualties have been reported on board the Indian warship. It is not clear what happened to the pirates after their ship was sunk.
Indian military vessels were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden on October 3. On November 11, the Tabar thwarted an attempt by pirates to capture the M V Jag Arnav, an Indian merchant vessel.
Despite a large international naval presence in the region, at least two more seizures have been reported today. Pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew members onboard and a Greek bulk carrier.
Somali pirates are currently holding at least 17 vessels, including the Saudi Arabian supertanker MV Sirius Star, which was seized on Tuesday hundreds of miles off the coast of Kenya in the most brazen attack by Somali pirates. The supertanker could hold up to 25% of Saudi Arabia’s daily oil output, and the seizure caused world oil prices to rise slightly after the news was announced.
Pirates have attacked around 83 ships so far this year, resulting in the seizure of around 33 vessels, including 200 crew members. The East African nation has been without a functioning government since 1991 and has no navy to police its coastline.
The Russian frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) recently joined an international naval group that has surrounded a Ukrainian ship, the MV Faina, seized by Somali pirates on September 25. The Faina’s Russian captain died of a heart attack after the vessel was seized.
The Russian frigate prevented on Sunday the seizure of the Rabikh vessel, flying the Saudi flag, by pirates off Somalia’s coast.