The 35 pirates who were apprehended from pirate vessel Ruen during a 40-hour operation last week were brought to Mumbai and handed over to the police for prosecution, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar said on Saturday. He also announced that the Indian Navy’s maritime security operations under the aegis of Operation Sankalp in the Gulf of Aden have completed 100 days.
“If there is disorder at sea caused by pirates, Houthis or whoever, trade gets disrupted. Then it has to come all around Africa through the Cape of Good Hope and the insurance rates will go up. Finally, who will pay that cost? You and me, the citizens, the common man. Therefore our effort is to ensure that our trade continues safely and we get what we want at the price we are supposed to get and not at a higher price,” Admiral Kumar said addressing a press conference. “We are the largest resident naval power in the Indian Ocean. The ocean is named after India and I think it is Bharti Nausena’s [Indian Navy] responsibility to ensure that Indian Ocean Region [IOR] remains safe, secure, and stable. We will ensure that it is free, open, inclusive and rules-based order is maintained.”
On the impact of the Red Sea crisis, Admiral Kumar said the High Risk Area (HRA) is already back in many ways and some notifications have already been issued by agencies from London. The insurance rates have gone up “by almost 35% to 40% and container costs have gone up from $500 to $2,000-plus”, he said and almost 40% to 50% of the companies have started re-routing their ships around the Cape of Good Hope.
During the 100 days of Operation Sankalp, the Indian Navy has responded to 18 incidents and has played a pivotal role as the “First Responder” and “Preferred Security Partner” in the IOR, said Commodore Sundeep Randhawa, from Naval Operations, briefing the media on the operation. “The arduous efforts of the Navy since December involved deployment of over 5,000 personnel at sea, over 450 ship days [with over 21 ships deployed] and 900 hours of flying by the maritime surveillance aircraft to address threats in the maritime domain,” he stated.
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In a 40-hour operation, destroyer INS Kolkata intercepted merchant vessel-turned pirate vessel Ruen in the morning of March 15 and forced the surrender of 35 pirates and freed 17 crew members of the vessel. An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 transport aircraft airdropped marine commandos and combat boats as part of the mission which was executed 2,600 km away from the Indian coast.
Ship searched and sanitised
After the seizure of Ruen, Indian Navy specialists searched and sanitised the ship and in addition, an assessment of seaworthiness and essential repairs were undertaken by naval technical team for making the ship fit for further voyage, the Navy said. “On request from the ship’s original company, Navibulgar, and the Master, the crew of MV Ruen were reinstated onboard the ship, which reverted to earlier status and hoisted the flag of Malta,” the Navy Spokesperson said.
MV Ruen has now proceeded to the next port of Salalah (Oman), as decided by the company, under escort of INS Subhadra to safeguard it against further pirate attack, the Navy added.
To questions on the origin of the drones and ballistic missiles being fired by the Houthi rebels targeting commercial shipping, the Navy Chief said it was not known if they were being assisted by another country. He said the drones could be assembled from commercially available materials. “One of the drones that we recovered from one of the merchant ships had the capability to travel 1,600 kilometres and it was made of plywood and other basic material. It had a four-stroke moped engine, very basic, elementary electronics, PCB [printer circuit board] on board. So it is not a very complicated thing and it’s made probably even locally.” He further stated that Houthis have also been firing missiles but their origin is not known. “Where they got the missiles, probably Iran or somewhere we do not know. We have not recovered any missile debris, we only recovered a drone. Drones can be made by anybody, they are made from commercially available materials...”
Admiral Kumar also drew attention to the cost asymmetry between the attacker and the defender. “For example, you make a drone for ₹10-20 lakh and to defend it and shoot it down, the missile will cost ₹5-10 crore.”
With respect to the Houthi rebels, Admiral Kumar further stated, “They have not targeted any of our Indian flag vessels or vessels plying to Indian ports and so on. So as far as we are concerned, we really have no quarrel with them. But we have our ships deployed there, which can protect our shipping if there is a need to do so. We are escorting them [the ships] now, [carrying] essential cargo such as fertilizers, crude and finished products. They are being escorted based on the request of our Ministries...” He said so far about 150 lakh tonnes of commodities have been escorted safely in the last 100 days.
Commodore Randhawa further said that in the present security scenario, the Indian Navy has taken the “lead” in responding to security situations arising out of myriad threats in the region. With over 110 lives saved (including 45 Indian seafarers), 15 lakh tonnes of critical commodities escorted (such as fertilisers, crude oil, and finished products), nearly 1,000 boarding operations undertaken, more than 3,000 kg of narcotics seized and over 450 merchant vessels assured of Indian Navy’s presence, the ongoing maritime security operations have truly reflected Indian Navy’s capability in playing a vital role as a strong and a responsible Navy in the IOR, he added.
