Indian Navy foils piracy attempt in Gulf of Aden

NEW DELHI: Indian Naval Ship Sharda, deployed for anti-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden, came to the rescue of Liberian merchant vessel Lord Mountbatten and saved it from a pirate attack, officials said on Wednesday.

INS Sharda, an offshore patrol vessel, has been on deployment in the Gulf of Aden since April 6.

On May 16, the ship received a distress call from Liberian ship Lord Mountbatten at around 4.45 p.m. (local time), Navy officials said.

The vessel reported an incident of attempted piracy by two suspected mother vessels, along with 7-8 skiffs.

INS Sharda arrived at the location around 7 p.m. and detected two dhows and eight skiffs in the vicinity of the ship, three of which escaped at high speed.

A team of special forces unit MARCOS from INS Sharda, with support from an armed helicopter, investigated the boats that were left.

"No fishing gear was recovered from the dhows. One high calibre AKM rifle along with one filled magazine was found on one of the dhows," Indian Navy said.

The weapon and ammunition were confiscated.