The Indian Navy swiftly responded to an urgent distress call from the MV Abdullah, a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean earlier this week. According to a statement released by the Navy on Friday, the vessel, en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of approximately 55,000 tonnes of coal, fell prey to Somali pirates on the evening of March 12.
Upon receiving the distress call, the Indian Navy promptly dispatched Long-Range Maritime Patrol (LRMP) aircraft to locate and assist the hijacked vessel. However, initial attempts to establish communication with the ship's crew proved futile.
Subsequently, a deployed Indian Navy warship, diverted earlier for the mission, intercepted the hijacked merchant vessel successfully on the morning of March 14. Following the interception, the safety of the abducted crew members, all Bangladeshi nationals, was confirmed, and the warship maintained close proximity to the MV Abdullah until it entered Somalia's territorial waters.
According to Meherul Karim, Chief Executive Officer of Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, the owners of MV Abdullah, the ship was seized by a group of 15-20 Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, approximately 600 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, as reported by Al Jazeera citing Maritime security firm Ambrey.
The incident has raised concerns about a resurgence of piracy in the Indian Ocean, particularly following a string of hijackings off the Somalia coast since December. This resurgence coincides with a separate surge in attacks on shipping, initiated by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis have been implicated in numerous assaults in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting vessels purportedly associated with Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom, allegedly in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza.
