'Thank you for the brave action...' Bulgaria, US thank India, MARCOS for freeing ship from Somali pirates
By Anish Kumar | First Published Mar 19, 2024, 9:04 AM ISTWhile Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and praised the navy for conducting anti-piracy operations off the Somalia coast.
The United States and Bulgaria have appreciated the Indian Navy’s role in freeing the hijacked Malta-flagged merchant vessel Ruen from Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean Region. The commercial vessel is of Bulgarian origin and is operated under the Maltese flag. The vessel was hijacked by the pirates in December 2023.
■'s air drop from C-17, board the HIJACKED European Merchant vessel MV Ruen, and rescues all crew from 35 Somali Pirates. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/h6DMiQ4q4u
— IDU (@defencealerts)US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had a telephone conversation with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and praised the navy for conducting anti-piracy operations off Somalia's coast. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in a post on X: "My sincere gratitude to PM @narendramodi for the brave action of Indian Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship ‘Ruen’ and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens."
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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Mariya Gabriel said: "I express my gratitude to the Indian navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel Ruen and its crew members, including 7 BG nationals Thank you for your support and great effort. We continue to work together to protect the lives of the crew."
The Indian Navy in a joint operation with the Indian Air Force rescued 17 crew members and forced the pirates to surrender before them. The pirates had even opened fire upon the Indian Navy warship -- INS Kolkata.
The IAF deputed its transport aircraft C17 Globemaster to airdrop elite marine commandos (MARCOS) in the Arabian Sea near the hijacked vessel around 2600 Km away from Indian shores.
The Navy deployed its P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, frontline ships INS Kolkata and INS Subhadra, and high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle to make the operation a successful one.
"INS Kolkata, in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender and ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members from the pirate vessel without any injury," Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
The Indian Navy is bringing all 35 pirates to India to be prosecuted under its laws. It must be noted that in the last 3 to 4 months, the Indian Navy has assisted a number of commercial vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following attacks on them.
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