A major mishap was averted following a joint operation of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Gujarat police bomb disposal squad (BDS) in the Arabian Sea where a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) thrown by pirates inside a cargo vessel was disarmed.
The operation was carried out in vessel MT Agea about 15 nautical miles off the Okha coast in Jamnagar district, ICG officials said.
According to officials, MT Agea, registered in Greece, was on its way to Port Sikka in Jamnagar from Antwerp in Belgium, when it was attacked by pirates, about 400 nautical miles away from Porbander.
“The vessel was fired upon with arms and RPG. One of the RPGs hit the accommodation structure and did not explode,” they said, adding that the ICG regional headquarters at Gandhinagar was intimated about the incident by the vessel. A BDS was rushed to the Okha coast where an ICG hovercraft was kept ready for launch, while at the same time the vessel MT Agea was intimated not to enter Gulf of Kutch and anchor about 15 nautical miles off Okha coast.
“After three hours of operation, the live RPG was disarmed by the police BDS, averting a major mishap at sea. The vessel was then cleared for undertaking her passage to Sikka,” the ICG officials said.