India deploys warship to police pirate-infested Gulf of Aden
Posted at 10/17/2008 5:51 PM
NEW DELHI - India said Friday it is deploying a warship to protect its merchant vessels in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
The move comes after the MT Stolt Valor carrying mainly Indian crew was hijacked on September 17 by Somali pirates in the gulf last month.
"The government has approved the deployment of one warship with immediate effect to patrol the route followed by Indian flagships between Oman and Yemen," a defense ministry official said.
The number of warships could be increased later, he added.
The "anti-piracy patrol" vessel will have helicopters and marine commandos on board, a ministry statement late Thursday said.
The deployment follows weeks of protests by ship workers and families of the detained crew who have been demanding rescue efforts for the MT Stolt Valor's crew of 22.
Eighteen crew members are Indians while there are two Filipinos, a Bangladeshi and a Russian.
"The presence of Indian Navy in the area will help to protect our seaborne trade and instill confidence in our seafaring community, as well as function as a deterrent for pirates," the statement said.
The Gulf of Aden is a "major strategic choke point in the Indian Ocean region and provides access to the Suez Canal through which the sizeable portion of India's trade flows", the statement noted.
Warships from several other nations patrol the Gulf of Aden, one of busiest shipping lanes in the world.
The International Maritime Bureau reported more than 24 known attacks off the Somali coast between April and June and more have been committed in recent months.
Maritime experts say many attacks go unreported along Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coast where pirates operate high-powered speedboats and carry heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.
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