Indian warship thwarts another pirate attack

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An Indian warship warded off a five-boat pirate attack on merchant vessels it was escorting in the Gulf of Aden, captured three of the boats, caught 26 Somali pirates and confiscated their weapons, a naval officer said here on Friday.

Patrol vessel INS Sukanya was escorting the five merchant vessels through the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday morning when the warship's crew noticed the five-boat pirate formation approaching the cargo ship group.

"The warship immediately altered towards the suspicious vessels and challenged them," the officer said, adding the pirate skiffs then reversed course and tried to flee the area.

"While two of the skiffs and its crew managed to get away, Sukanya successfully intercepted the remaining three skiffs and carried out well-practiced and professionally executed boarding-and-search action.

"The three boats had a total of 26 Somali crew on board. During the operation, six AK-47 rifles, 12 magazines and about 300 rounds of ammunition were found and confiscated," the officer said.