Indian Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Sunayna, which has been mission-deployed in the Gulf of Aden to carry out anti-piracy patrol, has seized another haul of arms and ammunition from a suspicious fishing vessel some 20 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia in the Horn of Africa.
It captured five rifles including AK-47s and 471 live rounds of ammunition in a search operation on December 13. The Southern Naval Command-ship had, on December 7 and November 9, made similar seizures, thwarting potential piracy bids.
A press note from the Navy said that after seizure of the weapons to prevent their use by the fishing boat crew for piracy related activities, the vessel was let off. “INS Sunayna has been deployed for anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden since October 6. The ship had earlier seized six AK-47s and one Light Machine Gun search operations conducted earlier. The vigilance exercised by the Indian Navy ships reiterates the commitment of India towards ensuring safe seas for Indian as well as international seafarers in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR),” the release said.
It further added that international effort to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the East Coast of Somalia involves participation of many countries such as India, China, Japan, United States, Russia and Pakistan and nations part of the European Union. Warships operating in this region for combating piracy are authorised by the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2383 (2017) to board vessels suspected of illegal activities