After three months of hijacking, a ship hijacked by Somali pirates has been freed by the Indian Navy.

Released in three months. The Indian Navy said Saturday it had recaptured the MV Ruen from Somali pirates off the Indian coast, freeing the crew and ending weeks of the hijacking of the Maltese-flagged cargo ship.

The Dec. 14 attack, 380 nautical miles (700 km) east of Yemen’s Socotra island, was the first successful hijacking by Somali pirates since the 2017 hijacking of the Aris 13 tanker, an unprecedented incident since 2012.

“The Indian Navy is thwarting Somali pirates’ plans to hijack ships sailing in the region by intercepting the ex-MV Ruen,” the Indian Navy wrote on Program X on Saturday evening.

Crew members are alive and well

The Indian warship Calcutta “has cornered and forced the surrender of 35 pirates over the past 40 hours through concerted action,” the navy added. It said it had “safely evacuated 17 crew members on the evening of March 16th and 24th from the pirate ship without any injuries.”

According to the same source, Indian forces intercepted the MV Ruen for the first time on Friday. The pirates then opened fire on the Calcutta, which responded with “the minimum force necessary to neutralize the pirate threat.”

According to the Indian Navy, no crew members were injured during the operation, which was carried out in coordination with other warships, helicopters and other aircraft.

The same source said the Ruen was recaptured about 1,400 nautical miles, or 2,600 km, off the Indian coast.

More and more action against piracy

The Indian Navy has been monitoring the MV Ruen since its hijacking by pirates. The latter then released the wounded sailor and handed him over to the Indian Navy. They then took the ship and the remaining 17 crew members to the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland, where they anchored in the town of Bosaso.

The Indian Army has stepped up its anti-piracy efforts in recent months following an increase in maritime attacks, especially in the Arabian and Red Seas, by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked in 2011, with attacks occurring up to 3,655 km off the coast in the central Indian Ocean before falling sharply in recent years.

But the hijacking of the MV Ruen follows a spate of attacks in the Horn of Africa not seen in years.

The MV Ruen is the most extreme case of a threat that has grown in this area of ​​the Indian Ocean, a major trade route, stress experts interviewed by AFP, who however consider a large-scale resurgence unlikely.

Since mid-November, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been carrying out attacks in the area on ships linked to Israel, citing retaliation for the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attack.