Warship INS Kolkata carrying 35 pirates, apprehended off Somalia coast, reaches Mumbai

INS Kolkata returns to Mumbai with 35 pirates captured off Somalia, handed over to local police for legal action.

Warship INS Kolkata, carrying 35 pirates who were apprehended in an operation off the coast of Somalia, reached Mumbai on Saturday, March 23 morning, the Navy said.

These pirates were then handed over to the Mumbai police, it said.

The exercise was undertaken as part of the ongoing Operation Sankalp, wherein Indian Navy ships are deployed in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the safety of seafarers and mercantile trade passing through the region.

"INS Kolkata, with the 35 apprehended pirates, returned to Mumbai on March 23 and handed over the pirates to the local police for further legal action in accordance with Indian laws, specifically the Maritime Anti Piracy Act 2022," the Navy said.

In an operation lasting over 40 hours that commenced in the early hours of March 15, INS Kolkata intercepted Pirate Ship ex-MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea based on inputs received by Indian Navy's Information Fusion Centre -Indian Ocean Region from UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations).

The ship was being used as a Mother Ship for undertaking piracy attacks and hijacking of merchantmen, it said.

INS Kolkata started shadowing the Pirate Ship in the early hours of March 15.