The regular deployment of the Indian Navy’s marine assets has contributed to the secure passage of fishing and cargo vessels facing piracy concerns.
On Tuesday, Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Defence, reminded the Lok Sabha that India’s Navy has deployed multiple units in the Gulf of Aden and Africa’s east coast for anti-piracy operations since 2008.
A total of 3,440 ships and over 25,000 sailors have been successfully escorted. Bhatt had been responding to a question from the legislators. Since 2008, the Indian Navy has deployed around 110 boats.
Seven incidences of piracy on the high seas, including the three most recent, have been reported in the last three years, according to Bhatt.
There were 21 crew members present during the hijacking of a commerce vessel known as the Lila Norwich. On January 4 and 5, the number included 15 Indian nationals. In addition, two hijacking events occurred involving fishing vessels IMAN (Jan 28) and AI Naeemi (Jan 29), both of which did not have Indian crew members on board, he stated.
To improve maritime security, Indian Navy forces are periodically deployed on mission-based deployments to specific regions of interest in the Indian Ocean Region.
According to Bhatt, India’s Navy is conducting bilateral and multilateral maritime exercises, surveillance, and coordinated patrols (CORPATs) with friendly foreign nations to strengthen maritime security and counter non-conventional threats in an inclusive and cooperative manner.
Furthermore, to strengthen regional maritime security, the centre has established the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), which has connections to 25 partner countries and more than 40 international multinational organizations for real-time information exchange to boost maritime security, according to the minister.
Besides, owing to the ongoing maritime security scenario in the region, Indian Navy units are being deployed in the waters of the Gulf of Aden, the North and Central Arabian Seas, and off Somalia’s coast to safeguard merchant vessels and render aid, if needed.