Indian Navy and International Anti-Piracy Ops

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 02 May 2009 20:51

NATO thwarts hijack off Somalia, seizes dynamite

Special forces on a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on an oil tanker, but later freed the 19 men

They found four sticks of P4A dynamite — which can be used in demolition, blasting through walls or potentially breaching a the hull of a ship — which were destroyed along with four automatic rifles and nine rocket-propelled grenades. It was unclear how the pirates planned to use the dynamite, Fernandes said, because there were no translators to conduct interrogations. The 19 pirate suspects were released after consultation with Portuguese authorities because they had not attacked Portuguese property or citizens.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 02 May 2009 22:17

US forces return pirates' bodies to Somali authorities

regional authorities sent a small boat to collect the wooden coffins containing the bodies from a warship stationed around 6.5 kilometers off the coast.

In related news, Belgium will offer specially trained military teams to help its country's ships fend off attacks by Somali pirates, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday, after a Belgian ship was hijacked earlier this month.

Ships would be charged 115,000 euros ($153,000) a week for protection from the soldiers who would only be deployed if a European Union force already in the region could not guarantee ships' safety, said Defense Minister Pieter De Crem.

"From the beginning of May until the end of June, shipping groups can call on the Defense Ministry which will deploy, in principle, eight soldiers per ship," De Crem told a news conference

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 03 May 2009 22:46

French forces detain 11 suspected pirates

Yemen frees ship, captures pirates

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 08 May 2009 05:00

Another naval ship heads for Seychelles

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 08 May 2009 11:49

The recent attacks on ships in the Seychelles indicates the growing ambition of the Somali pirates,who are allegedly linking up with Al Q sympathisers too.I was not too far off from the Seychelles a week ago and the huge area of ocean that needs to be sanitised will stretch the sea legs of several navies.IN's decision to send in a warship,perhaps a more powerful one later,to the Seychelles will help,but not defeat the piracy.It is only by attacking ther pirates bases on land that they can be defeated.Eyl must be wiped off the map,along with other pirate havens.Their port facilities and infrastructure developed on land to support their pracy has to wiped out completely.Historically,this has been the only way of totally defeating piracy by eradicating their land bases..

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 08 May 2009 12:00

UN should play a bigger role while dealing with these Somali pirates for better co-ordination of navies. For example French navy came into picture just to rescue their own vessels hijacked by the pirates. This area around Seychelles should be stratgically important to all countries and I think it is. Shouldn't be that hard to get rid off these pirates if the strategy is co-ordinated carefully by all major navies. But I believe Obama is too busy with Afghanistan,Talibans and economy to deal with this Somali menace.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 12 May 2009 06:14

This is London – the capital of Somali pirates' secret intelligence operation

What the crew could not know was that their ship had been singled out as a target by a network of informers based several thousand miles away – in London. Security officials say well-placed informants in the British capital, the world centre of shipbroking and insurance, gather so much detail on targets that, in the case of the Karagöl, they not only knew its layout, route and cargo, but had spent several days practising the assault.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 13 May 2009 04:00

U.S. ships must post guards if sailing off Somalia

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard will require U.S.-flagged ships sailing around the Horn of Africa to post guards and ship owners to submit anti-piracy security plans for approval, a Coast Guard official said on Tuesday.

The new requirements, which respond to a surge of piracy off the coast of Somalia, allow ship owners to decide whether to use armed or unarmed guards, Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson told shipping industry representatives at a maritime security meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The revised Maritime Security Directive, highly anticipated by the shipping industry, was signed on Monday by Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen.
...
...

Neilz · Post by **Neilz** » 29 May 2009 18:44

"Indian Navy foils pirate attack, kills two"....... and by INS Talwar... good going IN.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/may/ ... attack.htm

An Indian Navy ship has thwarted a pirate attack on a merchant vessel with 10 Indian crew in the Gulf of Aden in which two of the eight Somali sea brigands are feared killed and the rest arrested, Navy sources said on Friday.

The attack on the Norwegian-owned merchant vessel -- M V Maud, flying the Liberian flag -- took place about 225 nautical miles east of Aden around 1300 hours on Thursday, the sources said.

INS Talwar, a guided missile frigate, was escorting a three-vessel group in the international recommended transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden when Maud crew noticed an eight-member pirate gang in a skiff approaching towards it.

The vessel's captain sent a distress signal to Talwar, which rushed a helicopter to ward off the piracy attack.

"There was just about two-mile visibility at that hour due to haze. And that short distance and high speed of the skiff left Talwar with little time to respond," the sources said.

As the helicopter approached the merchant vessel, Navy personnel noticed two of the pirates trying to board the ship after locking a ladder on it. The Navy fired at the two men, who fell into the sea.

"We shot at the two pirates boarding the ship and they fell into the sea. We did not notice them resurfacing. We are not sure about their fate," sources said.

Later, Talwar sent its men in a rigid hull inflated boat (RHIB) to the pirate's skiff. The brigands surrendered to the navy, which disarmed them and dumped their fuel. The Navy also recovered a large cache of arms that included AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, a rocket launcher, ammunition, GPS and mobile phones.

The six men on the skiff, which was adrift, were later picked by another foreign warship, navy sources said.

"Thursday's incident was by far the most dangerous operation that Navy carried out against pirates in the Gulf of Aden, as the pirates were already in the process of boarding the merchant vessel. If they had boarded and taken control of the cargo ship, the curative task would have been more difficult," the sources said.

Since the Navy joined the international anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden last November, it has already busted a pirate mother ship and rescued about half-a-dozen merchant vessels, including those bearing foreign flags.

Neilz · Post by **Neilz** » 29 May 2009 19:36

^^^^
with picture

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/ ... irates.htm

Tilak · Post by **Tilak** » 31 May 2009 11:51

Neilz wrote:"Indian Navy foils pirate attack, kills two"....... and by INS Talwar... good going IN.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/may/ ... attack.htm

Images: Pirates attacking MV Maude

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 02 Jun 2009 00:13

US NAVY PROBES SEALS OVER MISSING PIRATE CASH

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 05 Jun 2009 17:36

Indian navy staves off attack by Somali pirates

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 05 Jun 2009 18:44

British Navy blows up pirate boat

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 25 Jun 2009 04:18

Monsoon helps fight Somali pirates

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 17 Jul 2009 06:05

Indo-French operation ends ship hijack, 14 sailors rescued

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 02 Sep 2009 00:16

Somali pirates using Pakistani arms: Indian Navy

Pakistan has found Somali sea pirates as the new tools in its covert war against India, the Indian Navy confirmed on Tuesday.

From jihad factories in Pakistan to pirate terror off the Gulf of Aden, Pakistan's hidden war against India has been crossing the seas.

There have been numerous attacks by Somali pirates on merchant ships with Indian crew on board. And, the Navy destroyer - INS Mysore - reported the Pakistani link to Somali pirates.

Nine months ago, during action against pirate ship Salahuddin, the Indian Navy patrol ships found material evidence of Pakistan's sinister plot.

Most of the weapons used by the Somali brigands bore the stamp of Pakistani ordnance factories. The rocket-propelled grenade launcher and the rifles seized from the boat were all made-in-Pakistan. Even the magazines recovered had Pak ordnance factory tags.

The revelation has raised serious concerns about a possible link between the sea pirates and the suspected terrorist groups.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 02 Sep 2009 00:58

shyamd wrote: Nine months ago, during action against pirate ship Salahuddin, the Indian Navy patrol ships found material evidence of Pakistan's sinister plot.

Most of the weapons used by the Somali brigands bore the stamp of Pakistani ordnance factories. The rocket-propelled grenade launcher and the rifles seized from the boat were all made-in-Pakistan. Even the magazines recovered had Pak ordnance factory tags.

The revelation has raised serious concerns about a possible link between the sea pirates and the suspected terrorist groups.

IMHO it sounds rather contrived to bring up this issue now.

What stopped us from bringing this up during the aftermath of the Bombay attacks?

Was the Navy or the Govt of India sleeping?

Any way better late than never.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 05 Sep 2009 21:36

Reaper drones sent to Seychelles

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 06 Sep 2009 16:39

chetak wrote: IMHO it sounds rather contrived to bring up this issue now.

What stopped us from bringing this up during the aftermath of the Bombay attacks?

Was the Navy or the Govt of India sleeping?

Any way better late than never.

Intelligence more likely did know about it, Dawud had been using somalian ports and Mombasa as a base for ops since the 90's.

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 07 Oct 2009 23:20

Pirates attack French Naval Ship by mistake

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 08 Oct 2009 16:40

^^^^

Can't stop laughing at this. Imagine their feeling when they realised it was a Navy vessel!

Nikhil T · Post by **Nikhil T** » 15 Oct 2009 08:03

IAF may use fighters in Gulf of Aden

This is the IAF flexing its muscles! I really like how IAF has been proactive ever since the induction of the Sukhois.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 15 Oct 2009 09:46

shameekg wrote:Pirates attack French Naval Ship by mistake

Reminds me of the unlucky Pirates in Asterix comics

.

vavinash · Post by **vavinash** » 15 Oct 2009 11:14

Nikhil T wrote:IAF may use fighters in Gulf of Aden

This is the IAF flexing its muscles! I really like how IAF has been proactive ever since the induction of the Sukhois.

THe IAF needs to rapidly expand to 42 fighter squadrons and base 2 of them outside in Ayni and mongolia. IN would do well to have landing and refueling facilities in Oman.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Oct 2009 03:09

A map to provide context:

Acharya wrote:

I would want IAF refuelling facilities in Oman too.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 22 Oct 2009 22:50

X-post:
Pak nationals may be training Somali pirates

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 24 Oct 2009 20:53

US drones protecting ships from Somali pirates

Aditya G · Post by **Aditya G** » 27 Oct 2009 19:33

http://www.timesnow.tv/Now-Navy-joins-t ... 330544.cms

Now, Navy joins the war on pirates
27 Oct 2009, 0927 hrs IST
The Navy has decided that it is time India did something to curb piracy in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy has commissioned two warships to counter the Somali threat. More than a hundred Indians have been held hostage by Somali pirates in the last one year. Following this, the Indian Navy is slated to deploy two warships near Mauritius and the Seychelles. The mission is to join forces with neighbouring nations and eradicate piracy.

Captain Manohar Nambiar, Chief PRO, Defence (Western Region) said, "We can confirm to you that the Indian Navy now has a presence in that region. We can not speak much about operations there but yes, our ships are into surveillance activities. This is apart from our ship already patrolling the Gulf of Aden."

The INS Tabar, a warship sent last year to counter the pirates of Somalia, will be deployed. Joining the Tabar will be the INS Shardul, a fully armed amphibious ship which can carry more than 500 troops, and the ICGS Varuna, an offshore patrol vessel armed to the teeth. The Varuna can travel 4000 nautical miles at a stretch, enough to go around the world.

TIMES NOW's Correspondent Jugal Purohit reports, "With the Somalian pirates opening up a new front and growing increasingly belligerent towards Indian interests, navy sources tell us, these warships will remain in the region for as long as is required. Not just that, the aim of these ships is to completely disrupt the newly formed theatre of the Somalian pirates with the active assistance of navies of Mauritius and Seychelles."

The Navy is gearing for war against the pirates and not without reason. The government may have been slow in reacting to the Somalian threat, but with this strategic move, the Navy hopes to counter the piracy menace with an iron fist.

Will we see an amphibous landing on Pirate infested shores to root the problem?

Also note these ships are likely to be based from Seychelles and Mauritius and not India

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 27 Oct 2009 21:19

ramana wrote:A map to provide context:

The map even marks the "Listening Stations". Are these so obvious? I mean that every one knows about the listening posts there?

.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 28 Oct 2009 03:59

Any shore landing will have to be preceded with some really good intelligence work. It would have been wonderful if India had deployed MALE or High altitude (Global Hawk type) UAVs to follow the pirate dhows and then take out their home ports and villages.

Piracy is just a profession that the war torn people there have taken to who live by the sea. Leaving such an area unpoliced these days is going to attract unsavoury groups like the ones Pakistan has created in abundance to take over these areas and use them for things more than piracy.

It would seem that the addition of a landing craft to the patrol team is to ensure that the IN can follow the pirates all the way to the shore and to project force on land if needed be to secure hostages. This now opens the doors for a joint MARCOS and Amphibious Landing of marine forces to achieve required goals.

Great. Only the IN has the means and the will to do this in the arabian sea. This one's going to be like the Maldives op.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 28 Oct 2009 21:06

Gagan, The RPVs are USN assets and being used!

From Night watch, 27 Oct., 2009

India-Somali anti-pirate patrol: The Indian Navy has decided to deploy two ships in the Indian Ocean to counter threats from Somali pirates, the Indian Express reported 27 October. According to unidentified sources, the ships will take up duty stations near Mauritius and the Seychelles. Means uncle's sources. See below about rpvs and USN in the area.

Navy Captain Manohar Nambiar told the press that the Indian Navy has a presence in the region devoted to surveillance that is separate from the Navy ship already patrolling the Gulf of Aden. The guided missile frigate INS Trishul operates with international maritime forces off Aden.

The two warships bound for the Seychelles are the naval amphibious ship INS Shardul and Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel Varuna, which were originally on a "routine training and surveillance mission'' to the waters near Seychelles. Both have naval cadets aboard, but are responding to a Seychelles request to prolong what was a training mission.

Somali pirate depredations near Mauritius and the Seychelles this summer afford India a legitimate cover for maintaining a naval presence off the coast of Africa. These deployments will provide India situational awareness in the western Indian Ocean, serving a purpose similar to India’s base in the Andaman Islands at the mouth of the Malacca Strait in the eastern Indian Ocean. The Indians take seriously the name of the Ocean. Plus, they get to work with US navy remotely piloted aircraft and support crews in the Seychelles.

Nevertheless, according to the Times of India, the External Affairs and Defence Ministries are considering several options for combating piracy off the Seychelles. The government has not decided whether it should approve a "prolonged continuous deployment of Indian warships in those waters, like the ongoing one in the Gulf of Aden. “

According to the Times, in the last 12 months, Indian Navy ships have escorted 644 merchant ships across the 490 nautical mile-long "internationally recommended transit corridor'' in the Gulf of Aden, thwarting 13 piracy attempts since October 2008. India's annual imports through the Gulf of Aden are valued at $50 billion, while exports are estimated at $60 billion.

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 02 Nov 2009 06:53

Norwegian Warship in sea-battle

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 02 Nov 2009 09:54

Some IN deployment is also to keep an eye on this:
Pak Navy begins war games in Arabian Sea

Pakistan Navy’s maritime exercise ‘Seaspark 2009’ has commenced in the northern Arabian Sea, a public relations wing of the naval force said yesterday. The exercise spanning over six weeks would employ all operational units, including ships, submarines, aircraft, special services group and marines. The main objective is to assess operational readiness of Pakistan Navy and provide an opportunity to officers and sailors to operate under multi-threat environment and exercise responses.
...

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 10 Nov 2009 04:01

Pirates attack tanker 1000 miles off shore

The high-seas hijackings have increased after the recent end of the monsoon season despite an international armada of warships deployed by the United States, the European Union, NATO, Japan, South Korea and China to patrol the region. U.S. drones launched from nearby Seychelles are also patrolling for pirates.

Why is India missing from this list?

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 10 Nov 2009 04:34

shameekg wrote:Pirates attack tanker 1000 miles off shore

Why is India missing from this list?

I think the list only mentions the UN led force - Hence Russia, India and many others are missing as well... France falls under EU and UK would be under NATO.. Don't worry - everyone acknowledge that it was the Indian warship who first SANK a pirate ship after being fired upon....

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 10 Nov 2009 21:19

Craig Alpert wrote:I think the list only mentions the UN led force - Hence Russia, India and many others are missing as well... France falls under EU and UK would be under NATO.. Don't worry - everyone acknowledge that it was the Indian warship who first SANK a pirate ship after being fired upon....

Its not just EU and NATO. They mention China don't they. While its fine that everyone knows India is there, mentioning it in the media would not hurt.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 10 Nov 2009 23:50

shameekg wrote: Its not just EU and NATO. They mention China don't they. While its fine that everyone knows India is there, mentioning it in the media would not hurt.

What can I say? We let our ACTIONS speak LOUDER than our WORDS!

While consenting to your point, here's the flip side.. We don't publizie as we always want people to think that we are a peace loving country who don't believe in violence!! yet we were the first to sank a ship

But it is what it is... I guess a lil PR won't hurt!

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 17 Nov 2009 00:38

Iranian commandos sent to arrest Somali pirates

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 19 Nov 2009 00:39

Maersk Alabama repels 2nd pirate attack with guns