NEW DELHI: With the hijacked Malta-flagged MV Ruen almost reaching the coast of Somalia on Sunday, the Indian
warship
shadowing the commercial vessel is into a “wait-and-watch” mode since a direct intervention could lead to loss of lives among the crew being held hostage by the armed pirates on board.
Bulk carrier MV Ruen is being “constantly monitored” by Indian guided-missile destroyer
INS Kochi
.
“The two warships are present in the area for any contingency,” an officer said.
Going by past instances, owners of such hijacked commercial ships are usually compelled to negotiate with the Somali pirates and pay a ransom to get their vessels and crews back.
“Armed interventions are normally avoided in such hostage situations. Moreover, once a hijacked ship enters the territorial waters of a country, nothing much can be done,” another officer said.
As earlier reported by TOI, the Indian
Navy
had swung into action after MV Ruen, with 18 crew members on board, sent a mayday call on the UKMTO portal on Thursday afternoon, with the alert that it had been boarded by “around six unknown persons”.
MV Ruen, is managed by a Bulgarian company Navigation Maritime Bulgare. The hijacking is the first major incident in the last five to six years after concerted anti-piracy action by several international navies in Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean Region.
