Hijacked by pirates: Indian Navy frees ship after three months of deal in sight in dispute with train drivers, says Deutsche Bahn

35 pirates surrendered and 17 crew members were rescued unharmed on Saturday evening, the Indian Navy announced on the X platform (formerly Twitter). The ship “MV Ruen” was intercepted in the Arabian Sea, about 2,600 kilometers from the Indian coast, and forced to stop. Illegal weapons, ammunition and contraband were also searched. The cargo ship had already been hijacked on December 23.

A warship chased the pirates for 40 hours and finally stopped their captured freighter. It was said that the pirates first fired at the warship before surrendering after resistance from the Indian ship’s crew.

The coast off the crisis state of Somalia was once the scene of frequent pirate attacks. However, as part of the EU mission ‘Atalanta’, which has been active since 2008 to combat piracy there, the number of attacks has decreased significantly. However, according to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center, a hijacking occurred on December 14 when a cargo ship was hijacked and headed to Somalia. In late January, the Indian Navy said it had freed the crews of two fishing boats from Somali pirates within 36 hours.

Somalia is located in the Horn of Africa, opposite Yemen. The dangers in the region have increased sharply. Since the start of the Gaza war, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from sailing to Israel. The Red Sea is considered one of the most important shipping lanes for world trade as it connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Indian Navy recently increased its presence in the region following the attacks. (sda/dpa)