Indian security forces on board a Somalian pirate ship which they seized off Lakshadweep islands on Sunday
Mateen Hafeez & T Ramavarman TNN
Mumbai/Kochi: Drama revisited the high seas over the weekend as the Indian Navy and Coast Guard captured 28 more pirates after firing and a chase 100 nautical miles off Kavaratti in Lakshadweep. Defence personnel involved in sustained antipiracy operations are expected to reach Mumbai with the arrested pirates by noon on Tuesday.
Defence officials confirmed that 52 men in all were apprehended, but 24 are suspected to be Thai fishermen who were hostages of the 28 African pirates. Capt Manohar Nambiar, defence PRO, said the pirates were detained early Sunday morning off the Kerala coast. On January 28, another pirate ship had been sunk, with 15 men from that vessel under arrest in Mumbai.
Nambiar said that around 4 pm on Saturday, the Greek-flagged merchant ship Chios sought help from the Lakshadweep control room, stating that a suspected pirate ship was chasing them. The navy then alerted INS Tir, of the Southern Naval Command, and launched a Dornier aircraft to search the region. A defence ministry release said the Dornier located the two skiffs and their mother vessel at about 8 pm.
The Times of India, February 7, 2011
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