"Already does a lot," says Malta Foreign Secy on India's role in preventing Red Sea shipping disruptions
Feb 20, 2024
New Delhi [India], February 20 : Amid the escalating tension in the Red Sea, Permanent Secretary of Malta's Ministry for Foreign Affairs and European Affairs and Trade, Christopher Cutajar said on Tuesday that India has done a lot to prevent piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the nearby region and called for intensifying collaborations to establish a safer area for supply chains.
"First of all, we have to read the region better. These are proxy wars which are happening here and there in order to send messages. I know that India already does a lot when it comes to piracy, related to the Gulf of Aden and nearby. Europe is also trying to do its utmost in order to protect the supply chains in the region," he said.
"So, I think there is already good collaboration, what we can do is to intensify this collaboration but also intensify diplomatic talks in order to have that area safe for supply chains to be able to move from west to east and also vice versa," he added.
Earlier, the Indian Navy warship INS Sumitra thwarted the piracy attempt on an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, Al Naeemi sailing off the East Coast of Somalia and successfully rescued 19 Pakistani nationals on Monday, the Indian Navy said in an official statement.
On January 28, the warship responded to a distress message regarding the hijacking of an Iranian-flagged Fishing Vessel (FV) Iman, which had been boarded by pirates and the crew taken as hostages.
The FV was intercepted by INS Sumitra and following the SOPs and coercive posturing the vessel and 17 Iranian crew were safely rescued in the early hours of January 29. FiV Iman was sanitised and released for onward transit.
Subsequently, INS Sumitra located and intercepted another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Al Naeemi, which had been boarded by pirates and her crew (19 Pakistani nationals) taken hostage.
On January 29, INS Sumitra intercepted the fishing vessel and, through coercive posturing and deployment of her integral helo and boats compelled the safe release of the crew and the vessel. The ship also undertook confirmatory boarding to sanitise and check on the well-being of the crew who were held captive by the Somali pirates.
