The Indian Defense Ministry announced today that the Indian warship INS Tabar destroyed a suspected pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Africa.
It's the second major show of force from India this week in the world's most dangerous waters, which only days ago saw the seizure of the MV Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker now being held for ransom in Somalia. A Greek ship and a Thai fishing boat have subsequently been captured.
India may be leading the way in a renewed international response to Somali pirates, who are accountable for some 80 attacks this year. In recent weeks, they have become more brazen in the size of the ships they seek and the distance they are willing to travel off the coast for their booty.
India's Defense Ministry said the INS Tabar destroyed the pirates' boat Tuesday evening, foiling an attempted attack, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The INS Tabar opened fire on a pirate ship after it came under attack Tuesday evening, leaving the burning ship to sink. There was no mention of rescuing or capturing its crew.
It was a brief yet explosive battle, reports The Times of India.
Two accompanying speed boats sped away after the main vessel was blown up late on Tuesday.
"INS Tabar retaliated in self defence and opened fire on the mother vessel," the navy said in a statement.
"As a result of the firing by INS Tabar, fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel."
Naval officers on board the warship said they spotted pirates moving on the deck with rocket propelled grenade launchers.
Indian helicopters sent by the INS Tabar fended off several pirate attacks just a week ago, and the ship went on to rescue yet another boat shortly thereafter, CNN reports.
The helicopter carrying Indian commandos swooped in low over the distressed Saudi Arabian chemical tanker, firing its machine guns and sending three speedboats filled with pirates fleeing for the lawless Somali coast.
Twenty minutes later they rescued a nearby Indian ship, navy officials said, foiling another hijack attempt by a different band of pirates in east African waters of the Indian Ocean.
The INS Tabar was sent to the Gulf of Aden in October "following complaints from Indian shipping firms about the attacks, which are driving up insurance premiums, forcing ships to take detours and securing massive ransoms for the perpetrators," Reuters reports.
India has a particular stake in protecting the busy commercial route, which sees some 16,000 ships annually, according to the BBC.
India has a larger interest in ensuring the protection of even non-Indian owned cargo ships on the route - because 85% of India's sea trade on the route is carried by foreign-owned ships.
Around a third of India's total fleet of 900 cargo ships deployed in international waters are at risk on the route.
That is possibly why the navy says that the INS Tabar has safely escorted some 35 ships, including a number of foreign-owned ones, during transit through Gulf of Aden.
But India's presence in Africa's waters is about more than just business economics. The nation also hopes to demonstrate its military prowess, CNN reports.
[The rescues] mark a significant step for the South Asian giant, which is determined to translate its growing economic strength into global military and political clout.
"India now has the demonstrable capacity to project force beyond its border," said Ashok Mehta, a retired Indian army general and leading strategic analyst, adding that this was the first time commandos had been used so far from Indian shores.
At the heart of this effort – which has seen the country of 1.1 billion people become a nuclear power and actively campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council – is a program to expand the navy from traditional coast guard duties to one of the world's largest sea forces.
India's activity in the waters, which are already protected by an international force that is backed by the European Union and NATO may be inspiring other Asian nations, Reuters reports.
South Korea is likely to add its own warships to the international naval operation, an official said on Wednesday. Japan is also considering sending navy vessels, a newspaper report said, but its plan faces the twin obstacles of its pacifist constitution and a divided parliament.
"We believe this is a very serious issue, to be confronted jointly by the international community," Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said in a telephone interview.
South Korean media said the Defence Ministry wanted to send at least one destroyer to the region. If parliament approves the measure, ships would likely be deployed early next year.
In the past few weeks, Somali pirates have captured a South Korean cargo vessel and held hostage South Korean sailors who were part of the crew of a Japanese ship.
Other rules surrounding how ships patrolling the area can deal with suspected pirates have limited how far patrolling ships can go in fighting piracy, reports the BBC.
These days, there is no question of a bombardment of the port of Eyl, the main pirate base on the Somali coast. That might be the most effective response but it would require a UN Security Council resolution.
There is a resolution (1838, passed in October) which authorises the use of "necessary means", meaning force if need be, to stop piracy in international waters. There is also another resolution (1816) which allows anti-pirate operations within Somali waters, but only with the agreement of the Somali transitional government.
But even all these operations have to be conducted within international law, defined in this case as the provisions of the UN Law of the Sea Convention.
Yet the seizure of the MV Sirius Star highlights how costly these attacks have become. That is likely to prompt affected nations to redouble their efforts to contain the problem, the Financial Times reports.
The costs of piracy quickly add up. There is the human cost as crew members are taken hostage. An estimated $100m has already been paid in ransoms this year. There is also a growing economic cost. Most obviously insurance rates will go up, and with that surcharges on ships that use the Gulf of Aden en route to the Suez Canal, which accounts for about 10 per cent of world trade. The greater economic impact, though, will come from ships opting for the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, adding days or even weeks to a ship's journey. Yet this is no guarantee of safety by itself: the capture of the super-tanker happened on just this route.
Shipping companies have already asked for help, the paper reports.
Navies operating off Somalia should tackle the vessels that pirates use to launch attacks far offshore, shipping organisations said yesterday after an oil tanker was hijacked....
The Sirius Star's seizure has caused shock in shipping circles, both because of the vessel's size - it has four times the capacity of the next-biggest vessel seized by Somali pirates - and because a new international trade route is now seen as at risk.
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