An Indian Navy warship has intercepted the hijacked cargo ship Ruen and asked the Somali pirates on board to surrender. This was announced by a spokesman for the navy on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The pirates who allegedly hijacked the Maltese-flagged ship on December 14 opened fire on the navy vessel in international waters on Friday, the spokesman said, without giving further details.
The navy has called on the pirates to surrender and release the ship and any civilians they hold.
Somali pirates may have used the Rouen in the seizure of a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia this week, EU navies said on Thursday.
Before the capture of the Bulgarian ship Rouen, there had not been a successful hijacking of a merchant ship by Somali pirates since 2017.
At least 17 cases of hijacking, attempted hijacking or suspicious approaches have been registered by the Indian Navy since December 2023, Indian officials said.
India deployed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea in January to provide security against pirates and has investigated more than 250 ships.
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