The Seychelles defence force and coast guard rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen whose boat had been hijacked by Somali pirates two days earlier, while the Indian navy said it had freed 17 crew members of an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked off the eastern coast of Somalia.
Seychelles Defence Force special forces "led a successful operation to regain control of a Sri Lankan vessel hijacked by armed Somali pirates," the Seychelles President's Office said in a statement.
Iman, an Iranian fishing boat hijacked by pirates, is rescued by the Indian navy off the east coast of Somalia on January 29, 2024. Photo: AP
According to Susantha Kahwatta, a top official of the Sri Lankan Fisheries Department, three pirates were arrested, the fishermen and their boat were safe and taken to Seychelles. He said the Sri Lankan envoy to Seychelles had informed him of the successful rescue operation.
The hijacking comes two weeks after Sri Lanka said it would join a US-led operation to protect merchant ships passing through the Red Sea from attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The hijackings off the coast of Somalia have raised concerns that Somali piracy has returned after a decade of causing chaos in international shipping.
The robbery occurred in international waters about 840 nautical miles (1,555 km) east of Somalia, 1,100 nautical miles (2,040 km) from Sri Lanka and north of the Seychelles, according to Sri Lankan navy spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya.
On Monday, the Indian navy also said it had freed an Iranian fishing boat hijacked by pirates off the eastern coast of Somalia.
The Indian Navy wrote on X that the fishing vessel Iman was attacked by pirates and its crew was taken hostage. They said the navy had rescued all 17 crew members along with the boat.
The fishing boat was later “released to continue its transit,” the agency said. The Indian Navy has not said what happened to the pirates in the incident.
Mai Van (according to AP)
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