An Indian naval vessel specially deployed for anti-piracy patrol successfully intercepted the hijacked Bulgarian cargo ship Ruen in the early hours of December 16, the Indian Navy said, as cited by the Times of India.
It was previously reported that an Indian military aircraft flew over the ship after it was hijacked.
Responding quickly to the developing situation, the Indian Navy directed its naval patrol aircraft conducting area surveillance and its warship on anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden to locate and assist the Rouen, an Indian Navy statement said.
Although intercepted, the hijacked Bulgarian ship "Rouen" is now heading towards the coastline of Somalia, reported the Indian television NDTV. The ship sails under the Maltese flag, 9 sailors from its crew are Bulgarians, among which there are also sailors from Angola and Myanmar. The vessel was hijacked in the Arabian Sea.
According to a distress call, approximately six unknown persons boarded. The ship was heading to Somalia after Thursday's attack. The hijacking was initially suspected to be the work of Yemen's Houthi rebel group, but was later revealed to be the work of pirates. The vessel's capture appears to be the first major attack by Somali pirates since 2017, after anti-piracy efforts by several countries thwarted similar attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
In Somalia's breakaway Puntland region, a member of a group that has helped organize pirate raids in the past told Reuters he had heard that pirates had managed to seize a ship, the television station also reported, citing Reuters. . "Six of my pirate friends have managed to capture a ship and will bring it to the coast of the eastern Puntland region," Mukhtar Mohamud said by phone from the coastal town of Kandala. /BGNES
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