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A week after a pirate mother ship was sunk and the pirates aboard captured by the Navy and the Coast Guard in a joint operation off Lakshadweep, another group of about 25 pirates were nabbed in a fresh, well-coordinated action by the two forces about 100 nautical miles west of Lakshadweep on Sunday.

The maritime forces also seized the pirate-hijacked vessel and rescued its original crew. In all, 52 persons, including pirates and the crew of the hijacked vessel, are now being taken into Mumbai for further action. The Western Naval Command on Saturday evening received inputs that a Greek-flagged Merchant Vessel Chios was being chased by pirates on high-speed skiffs about 100 nautical miles west of Kavaratti, but the merchant vessel adopted evasive manoeuvres and best management practices (BMP) to avoid pirates boarding it.

Meanwhile, the Southern Naval Command-based first squadron training ship INS Tir, and Coast Guard ship Samar, which were already deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, were directed to search the area and intercept the skiffs and the mother ship. The warships located the skiffs on Sunday morning and ordered them to stop. The pirates, however, opened fire at the warships and attempted to scoot. INS Tir and CGS Samar then tracked the skiffs back to the mother vessel, Prantalay 11, a hijacked Thai fishing trawler.

(Prantalay 11 is one of the three Prantalays pirated in April last. Of these, Prantalay 14 was sunk by the Navy and the Coast Guard in an operation last week. Prantalay 12 is still believed to be active around the shipping lanes close to the Lakshadweep island chain.)

As they closed in on the pirate mother ship, INS Tir and CGS Samar once again came under fire. The warships returned decisive fire, forcing the pirates to hoist the white flag and surrender. “A mix of pirates and crew members who were being held hostage aboard the trawler were collectively recovered by the warships. Prantalay 11 has been taken under tow by CGS Samar, which is now heading for Mumbai with the pirates and the original crew on board where they will be handed over to the police,” said a Navy spokesperson.

With the East Arabian Sea increasingly witnessing attacks by pirates, the Navy and the Coast Guard have been patrolling the area for over two months now.