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Indian navy sinks Somali pirate ship
New Delhi, Nov 19: Indian Navy stealth frigate INS Tabar, deployed in the Gulf of Aden, fought Somali pirates and destroyed their vessel after a brief battle, the navy said on Wednesday.
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Two accompanying speed boats sped away after the main vessel was blown up late on Tuesday, a senior navy official said in New Delhi.
The Indian Navy ship was fired at by pirates in the Gulf of Aden late on Tuesday.
“The pirates fired at INS Tabar, which was patrolling the waters off the Somali coast. The ship retaliated and sank the pirate vessel,” he said.
Last week, it had staved off an attack by Somali pirates on two merchant vessels - one from India and another from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Somali pirates have seized another ship, a Greek bulk carrier, despite a large international naval presence in the waters off their lawless country, a regional maritime group said today.
The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the Greek vessel was taken on Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden, the second ship seized since this weekend's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker that was the largest hijack in history.
No ransom has been demanded so far for the Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star, a ship three times the size of an aircraft carrier and loaded with oil worth 100 million dollars.
In their boldest and furthest strike yet, pirates dodged international naval patrols to seize it 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa on Saturday, far beyond their usual zone of operations. They brought it back to Somalia, where it was believed to be anchored near the port of Haradheere.
Somali pirates are holding about a dozen ships and more than 200 hostages, most near Eyl village on the northern coast.
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