The patrol vessel responded to a distress call from the Iranian fishing boat Iman, which had been boarded by pirates along the east coast of Somalia, a navy spokesperson said, adding that the crew were being held as hostages. Sumitra intercepted the fishing boat and “ensured the successful release of all 17 crew members along with the boat,” the Indian Navy said in a statement. The vessel was then sanitized and released for onward transit, Russia Today reported.
In a similar incident on Friday in the Gulf of Aden, the Navy sent its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam in response to a distress call from a British oil tanker that had caught fire. The MV Marlin Luanda had 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew aboard.
MNA
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