India Rescues Iranian Crew From Somali Pirates

Indian naval forces secured the Iranian fishing boat Azini and freed its crew of 20 on Monday. The operation concluded more than 48 hours after Indian forces identified the vessel in the Arabian Sea, according to the Indian Defense Ministry.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced the rescue from Mogadishu on Tuesday. He stated that the vessel was located approximately 3,000 kilometers from Mumbai. The ministry reported that no casualties or injuries occurred during the extraction of the crew.

The Azini was hijacked on Oct. 29 while traveling between Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia. A Puntland Maritime Police Force official told the Associated Press that Indian troops disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates. The forces confiscated the suspects' mobile phones before releasing them. The 12 pirates and two Somali security guards later arrived at Bandar Bayla. Three individuals sustained minor injuries upon landing, though the official did not specify which group they belonged to or how the wounds occurred.

The rescue operation involved an Indian warship, a maritime surveillance aircraft, and marine commandos. An Indian Air Force C-17 plane airdropped additional commandos to the site. Indian forces tracked the target by both sea and air before taking control of the ship. The ministry cited concerns that pirates might use the vessel as a mobile base to attack commercial traffic.

Crew counts reported by local authorities differ slightly from the Indian government's figures. A Puntland officer said the vessel carried 21 Iranian crew members and two security guards at the time of the hijacking. The ministry did not clarify if the rescued group of 20 excluded one member or if the counts referred to different points in time. It was also unclear if the crew remained on the Azini or were transferred to another vessel.

Regional authorities in Puntland learned of the successful rescue only after Indian forces had completed the mission. The incident is part of a broader resurgence in Somali piracy. Since April, pirates have hijacked six commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. These include the oil products tanker Sibu 1, seized near Yemen, and the MT Honour 25, from which five crew members were killed in September. The renewed threat complicates shipping routes already strained by the ongoing conflict in Iran and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea corridor.

The disruptions have forced some oil shipments to divert around Africa, extending voyage times by up to a month. International patrols had previously reduced piracy risks in the region, but recent incidents have prompted renewed scrutiny of maritime security measures in the Indian Ocean.