Report: Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SP)
                            
Mumbai, Jul 17: An Indian dhow with 14 Indians on board was hijacked off Boosaaso, Somalia at 1100 am  on July 10,  by seven pirates armed with RPGs and AK47s . The vessel was hijacked, when it was about 10 nm off Boosaaso in Puntland (the semi-autonomous north-eastern region of Somalia), after it had offloaded its cargo at the Somali harbour and was proceeding to Dubai. The hijacked dhow, ‘MV Nafeya’, was registered at Porbandar in India and was operating from the UAE.
                                      
After the hijacking, the pirates forced the dhow towards Babel Mandeb and, on 13 Jul, attempted to hijack MV A Elephant, a Liberian tanker. However, the attack was thwarted by a French warship belonging to the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), which was in the vicinity. The French warship shadowed the pirated dhow and, putting the well practiced standard operating procedures with the Indian Navy into effect, continuously exchanged information with the Indian naval ship on the  anti-piracy patrol. The dhow was thereafter tracked continuously by the warships of both the navies.
 

Attempts to board the dhow for investigation by the French shipmen were abandoned, after  the pirates threatened to kill the 14 crew held hostage on the dhow. Seeing the movements of the Indian and French warships and anticipating a combined operation, the pirates forced the dhow close to the Somali coast and released the dhow at 0300 hours on July 15, escaping in their skiffs, after robbing the crew of all their cash and valuables.
 
The crew of the dhow thereafter contacted the Indian warship on VHF and sought assistance. Accordingly, the Indian warship closed in on  the dhow and in coordination with the French warship, boarded the dhow to provide succor. All the 14 Indian crew of the vessel were confirmed as being safe and the Indian warship provided them with food, water and medicines. The dhow is now heading towards Al Mukkalla in Yemen.
 
These proactive actions taken by the Indian and French naval ships demonstrate the value of combined exercises and operations and reflect the excellent coordination during this operation. This mutual understanding and operational interoperability resulted in the safe release of the Indian dhow and its crew without payment of any ransom.