India, China navies rescue hijacked ship

Amid sticky diplomatic ties between India and China, the navies of both countries on Sunday rescued 19 Filipino crew members from a ship hijacked by Somali pirates, after a 10-hour standoff in the Gulf of Aden.

Pirates stormed into MV OS35, a merchant vessel registered in Tuvalu, an island nation on the South Pacific, on Saturday night. The merchant vessel was travelling from Kelang in Malaysia to the port city of Aden in Yemen. The crew locked themselves in a safe room on-board the vessel to avoid coming into direct contact with the pirates.

Responding to a distress call from the vessel around midnight, Indian Navy ships – Mumbai, Tarkash, Trishul and Aditya – closed in on the hijacked vessel within hours. The Indian Navy was quick to provide air support with choppers hovering over the vessel, forcing the pirates to flee after a long standoff.

The four Indian ships were proceeding to the Mediterranean and passing through the Gulf of Aden when they received the distress call. "The Indian warships established contact with the captain of the merchant vessel, who, along with the crew, had locked themselves in a strong room on-board, as per standard operating procedures," said a navy spokesperson.

The joint operation took place at a time when diplomatic relations between India and China have been at its nadir, what with issues like the Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh recently, China's opposition to India's NSG membership and Beijing blocking India's effort to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.

An Indian Navy helicopter undertook aerial reconnaissance of the merchant vessel at night and at sunrise, to sanitise the upper decks and ascertain whether the pirates are still on-board.

The Chinese Navy moved in its missile frigate, Yulin, with an 18- member team.

After receiving an 'all-clear signal' that no pirates were visible on the upper decks, some crew members gradually emerged from the strong room and carried out a search of the ship and ascertained that the pirates had fled.

"In a show of international maritime cooperation against piracy, a boarding party from the nearby Chinese Navy ship boarded the merchant ship, while Indian naval helicopters provided air cover. It has been established that all are safe," the spokesperson added.

An Indian ship, Al Kaushar, sailing from Dubai to Yemen was hijacked by Somali pirates last week with 11 members on-board.