28 MORE PIRATES being brought to Mumbai

DOWN AND OUT: The captured men on board a naval vessel. (Top left) Defence officials tow one of the tow skiffs to the Indian coast

Navy Overpowers Second Ship In 10 Days. City Police Await Custody Of Captured Men

Mateen Hafeez & T Ramavarman TNN

Mumbai: The 28 pirates who were captured early Sunday morning were first spotted at sea by a Dornier aircraft at about 8 pm on Saturday, according to a defence ministry release.

The Dornier informed INS Tir about the location, and it reached the area. The ministry said Tir continued chasing the skiffs and the mother vessel till first light on Sunday morning to ensure proper identification.

Coast guard vessel ICGS Samar joined the operation at about 5 am.

On being asked to surrender and prepare to be boarded, the skiffs returned fire. “The defence ships chased the two pirate boats, which headed for the mother ship, a captured fishing trawler,” said a defence officer. The Prantalay-11 trawler had been apparently hijacked several months ago off the Somali coast, since when pirates were using it as a mother ship. Defence officials said the pirates on the mother ship were asked to surrender, but they also fired. An exchange of fire ensued, during which the pirates hoisted a white flag to signal surrender. Sources said the pirates would be taken to Kochi first for medical assistance before being brought to Mumbai.

When navy and coast guard personnel captured the mother ship, they realized it was one of two Thai fishing trawlers that had been hijacked in April 2010 off Somali. Sources said that the Prantalay-11 and Prantalay-14 were hijacked by pirates and crew members had been taken hostage.

On January 28, the navy and coast guard sank the Prantalay-14 200 nautical miles off Kochi. They arrested 12 Somalis, two Ethiopians and a Kenyan.

On Sunday, defence personnel captured the mother ship used by the pirates. The hostages had been assigned jobs on board and threatened with dire consequences if they did not obey,.

Quaiser Khalid, DCP (Port), said, “We have not received any official communication from the defence as yet. Once we get custody of the latest suspects, we will interrogate them.”
Piracy has made shipping perilous, which has led to large deployments at sea, including by India.

FEB 6 CAPTURE

Saturday, 4 pm: Pirates carry out aborted attack on merchant ship Chios. INS Tir asked to locate pirates

8 pm: Dornier aircraft locates two skiffs and a mother ship; passes coordinates to Tir, which reaches the location

Overnight: Tir tracks skiffs and mother ship till dawn

Sunday, 5 am: Coast guard vessel Samar joins pursuit

Later: Pirates on skiffs fire when asked to surrender. Mother ship asked to halt, but it also fires. Pirates raise white flag after exchange of fire

Tuesday: Defence personnel expected to reach Mumbai with captured pirates, skiffs and mother ship

The Times of India, February 7, 2011