In one of the coordinated incidents of piracy, seven Indian vessels with nearly 100 people on board have been hijacked off the Gulf of Aden and Somalia coast. All of these are mechanised sailing vessels (MSVs) – and no contact have been established so far with the pirates.Why the vessels were operating, apparently unescorted, so near pirate-infested waters is not clear.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG-Shipping) gave the names of these vessels as MSV Al Kadri, MSV Al Ijaz, MSV Faize e Osman, MSV Sea Queen, MSV Nar Narayan, MSV Vishwa Kalyan and MSV Krishna Jyot.
These ships were hijacked over the weekend. “These are reported missing and presumed hijacked by pirates. These vessels have been reportedly operating in or near the pirate-infested area near the Gulf of Aden/Somalia region. Ninety-seven lndian seafarers are reported to be on these vessels,” the DG-Shipping’s office said in Mumbai. Unconfirmed reports said that that the number of sea-farers could be more than 120.
UPDATE: More here:
Seems a bit late for that...'These cargo vessels must have been commandeered for use as decoys and for camouflaged movement by pirates in the intensively patrolled waters,' said an Indian Coast Guard source.A worried Indian government Tuesday banned the movement of its mechanised sailing vessels to the south and west of Salalah in Oman and Male with immediate effect.
How do you grab 7 vessels?
Recall the recent Al Queda call to block the Bab-el-Mendab. Rather than Somali pirates taking all of these Indian vessels (dhows, I assume), could this be the first stage of an operation by terrorists?
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