Mumbai: The Indian navy has reported that its warship the INS Tabar (pictured) yesterday attacked and destroyed a vessel belonging to Somalian pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden. According to news reports by the BBC, the naval vessel was patrolling 285 nautical miles (528km) south-west of Salalah in Oman, on Tuesday evening when it spotted a pirate vessel. When it demanded the vessel stop for investigation, the pirate ship responded by threatening to "blow up the naval warship if it closed on her", the navy said in a statement.
The navy said the pirates on board were armed with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. They threatened to blow up the INS Tabar and then fired on it. The statement says that the navy retaliated by opening fire and that there was an explosion on the pirate vessel, which sank.
"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," the Indian navy maintains.
The Indian navy has allocated three warships to patrol the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden. The INS Tabar has previously helped prevent two other hijack attempts, including one on the Great Eastern Company operated Jag Arnav.
There are over 15 commercial vessels and yachts currently being held for ransom by Somalian pirates. Rising insurance premiums have led a number of ship operators to reroute their vessels to avoid the Gulf of Aden and sail around the Cape of Good Hope. [19/11/08
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