Indian Navy foils piracy attempt in Gulf of Aden; three ships remain in captivity, IMO warns

The Indian Navy successfully responded to a piracy attempt on the merchant vessel MV Golden Arsenal in the Gulf of Aden, with stealth frigate INS Trikand swiftly intercepting and securing the ship after the attack.

The operation comes even as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) issued an urgent appeal for the release of the crews of three other vessels still held by Somali pirates, warning that the humanitarian situation aboard one of them, which has one Indian crew member, had turned critical. Five Indian nationals are among the crews of two of those three vessels.

The Navy on Thursday informed that the Golden Arsenal, a St. Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged bulk carrier, reported an attempted pirate attack on July 1 while transiting from Aden, Yemen, approximately 300 nautical miles east-northeast of Djibouti. The vessel, en route to Thoothukudi, was carrying 21 crew members — 20 Syrian nationals and one Indian.

The incident was reported through the Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), following which INS Trikand, then about 80 nautical miles away, altered course to close in on the vessel. As it approached, the frigate launched a helicopter to sanitise the area.

On establishing communication with the vessel, naval personnel ascertained that the crew had taken shelter in the ship’s citadel — a fortified refuge built to withstand forced entry, equipped with independent power, ventilation, satellite communication and supplies — and remained safe throughout the incident, with pirates suspected to be still onboard. The Golden Arsenal had been stopped roughly 110 nautical miles northeast of Somalia’s Boosaaso, with INS Trikand maintaining a close watch within 1.5 nautical miles of the vessel through the night.

On July 2, a boarding team from INS Trikand boarded the Golden Arsenal to sanitise the vessel and assess the situation. After a comprehensive search, no suspicious personnel were found onboard. The crew then safely emerged from the citadel and, along with Indian Navy personnel, began assessing the damage to the vessel. To strengthen the operation, the Indian Navy also deployed a P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft for aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, enhancing maritime domain awareness in the area and supporting the anti-piracy mission.

The merchant ship had sustained damage to its bridge superstructure and adjoining compartments during the pirate attack.

With the vessel declared secure and the immediate threat neutralised, INS Trikand concluded its anti-piracy operation. The Golden Arsenal has since resumed its onward voyage. The Navy said it remains committed to safeguarding merchant shipping, countering piracy and ensuring the safety of all seafarers in the Indian Ocean Region, irrespective of nationality.

Three ships held hostage

Meanwhile, the IMO has expressed particular concern over the Palau-flagged tanker MT Honour 25, whose 17 crew members — including one Indian national — have now been held for more than two months since the vessel was hijacked on April 24. Citing the latest communication from the ship’s Master, the IMO statement said five crew members, including the Master, were now unwell, with food supplies reportedly down to rice alone and the available drinking water unfit to drink. It also said armed pirates guarding the vessel had recently exchanged fire with a rival pirate group that tried to approach the ship, leaving the crew caught between competing armed factions.

The Master was quoted appealing to the international community to help secure the crew’s release.

The IMO said the crews of two other vessels — the Sward and the MV Eureka — also continue to be held under similarly difficult conditions. The MV Eureka’s 12-member crew includes four Indian nationals, while there are no Indians among those held aboard the Sward, according to officials. The IMO called for urgent, coordinated international intervention to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all three crews, urging Somalia’s federal government, flag states, shipowners, insurers and regional partners to intensify diplomatic and operational efforts.

The Golden Arsenal operation is the latest in a series of anti-piracy patrols the Indian Navy has sustained in the Gulf of Aden and the wider Western Indian Ocean amid what the IMO has described as a resurgence of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region.