Will keep taking 'affirmative action' to secure Indian Ocean Region: Indian Navy Chief
Admiral R Hari Kumar highlighted the effectiveness of the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act and the navy's proactive approach in inspecting vessels suspected of piracy triggers. The operation also addressed concerns regarding attacks on merchant vessels and rising insurance and container costs, attributing piracy resurgence to profit-driven motives
FollowIndian Navy on Saturday completed 100 days of Operation Sankalp Phase 2, which coincided with the handing over of 35 Somali pirates to Mumbai Police, who had surrendered before the naval force off Somalia's coast three days back after 40 hours. In these 100 days of operation Sankalp, the Indian Navy had deployed 10 warships, helicopters, Long-Range Maritime Reconnaissance P8I aircraft and over 500 Indian Navy personnel, including marine commandos (MARCOS).
Interacting with the media persons in Delhi, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said this is the largest pirate surrender exercise in the last 10 years. In a reply to a query on captured Somali pirates, Admiral Kumar said: “Earlier we never had any law, so it was quite nebulous. In our earlier operations, whenever we captured there was hardly any place where you could take them for handing over. Only the Yellow Gate police station in Mumbai was nominated to handle them. But now all coastal police stations have been empowered.”
"We have this anti-piracy Act which has been a great enabler for the security forces particularly for the Navy since we are involved in anti-piracy operations. There are very few countries which have such an Act. This has empowered us to visit, board, search and seize," he said.
He also added, “Any suspicious vessel craft or fishing boat or dhow which we suspect, we board, inspect and if we find piracy triggers like skiffs, weapons, ammunition then we take action to ensure that they don't proceed with their mission. This has been a great enabler and one of the reasons why we have been successful.”
The navy chief also said that in these 100 days “we have done more than 1000 boarding. Boarding a vessel at sea is not easy. There are roughly about 1800 crafts of all types from fishing vessels to merchant vessels. Just to board one vessel and to inspect it thoroughly will take nothing less than 5-6 hours. So that is the type of effort that is required if you want to inspect a vessel and certify that it is clear and not involved in illegal activities.”
India Navy a net security provider in Indian Ocean Region
"This is a testament to the new and confident Bharatiya Nau Sena and we are trying to wear a new identity of Bharat. These 100 days of sustained Op Sankalp have also broken the myth of soft and swift operations. Therefore, there is a need to realize that we have been able to carry forward sustained operations if we need to ensure safety, security and stability in the ocean,” Admiral R Hari Kumar said.
"The pace of the operation has been quite high and you may ask how we are able to sustain it. As of yesterday, we had 11 submarines operating simultaneously in the sea where more than 35 ships and over 5 aircraft deployed in different parts of the Indian Ocean Region,” he added.
The Indian Navy chief said that the Indian Navy will keep on taking “affirmative action” in an effort to ensure a safer and more secure Indian Ocean Region.
Has an Indian-flagged vessel been targeted by Houthis rebels?
The Navy chief said that no Indian-flagged vessel" has been targeted by the Houthis at sea. “They have not targeted any of our Indian flag vessels or vessels plying to Indian ports and so on. So as far as we are concerned, we really have no quarrel with them,” Admiral R Hari Kumar said.
“But we have our ships deployed there, which can protect our shipping if there is a need to do so. We are escorting them now, essential cargo that is fertilizers, crude and finished products. These are being escorted based on the request of our Ministries... We had a large number of ships that have been escorted, about 150 lakh tonnes of commodities that have been escorted safely in the last 100 days. We will continue to do that and we will watch the situation,” he added.
Is Iran behind the attack on merchant vessels?
"These missiles are also being fired by the Houthis only. Where they got the missiles, probably Iran or somewhere we do not know. We have not recovered any missile debris, we only recovered a drone. Drones can be made by anybody; they are made from commercially available materials,” Admiral R Hari Kumar said.
In reply to a question on the origin of the missiles that have been used in the attacks, the navy chief said: "They have ballistic missiles as well which they have been firing. But we have not recovered any of it. So we do not know the origin and who made it. Probably we have been told that they get support from Iran, so it could have been from there."
Has insurance and container costs gone up?
"This HRA (high-risk area) has already come back in many ways. Some notifications have already happened by agencies from London. The insurance rates have gone up, by almost 35 to 40%. Container costs have gone up from $500 up to $2000 or $2000 plus. Almost 40 -- 50% of the companies have started re-routing their ships around the Cape of Good Hope. What happens is the freight charges and insurance charges will go up. Where is the effect going to be felt? It is going to be felt by you and me, people like us as consumers,” the Indian Navy chief said.
Has piracy now become an industry?
He said that this piracy has again resurfaced as an industry to profiteer or to gain from the disorder that is happening in that area. In the last 100 days, the Indian Navy has saved 102 lives, including that of 27 Pakistanis and 30 Iranians in different piracy-related operations.
