New Delhi [India], December 27 : The Indian Navy, in ensuring maritime security, deployed over 30 ships in the Western Arabian Sea and responded to more than 25 incidents of Houthi shipping attacks and incidents of piracy in the past year, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
In its Year Ender Review for 2024, the Ministry of Defence stated that these operations had saved over 400 lives and that the Indian Navy had successfully escorted over 230 merchant vessels, safeguarding over 90 lakh metric tonnes of cargo worth more than four billion USD in the Western Arabian Sea region as of November 2024.
"Over the last one year, in response to Houthi shipping attacks and rising incidents of piracy in the Western Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy has deployed over 30 ships in the region and has responded to over 25 incidents. The credible and swift actions of Indian Navy saved more than 400 lives, irrespective of the nationality of the crew. As of November 2024, Indian Navy has safely escorted over 230 Merchant Vessels, carrying over 90 Lakh Metric Tons of cargo, valued at over Four Billion USD," the statement read.
As part of its mission-based deployments, the Indian Navy has maintained a continuous presence in critical areas of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.
According to the ministry, these efforts align with India's vision of 'Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)', focusing on enhancing maritime domain awareness, ensuring security, and providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to IOR littoral states.
"Ships and aircraft were regularly deployed in the Gulf of Oman/Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden/Red Sea, South and Central IOR, off Sunda Strait, Andaman Sea/approaches to Malacca Strait, and Northern Bay of Bengal. These deployments aligned with the larger GoI vision of 'Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR),' whereby enhanced maritime domain awareness, swift Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to IOR littorals, security to the Indian and international maritime community were ensured, and operational engagements with friendly navies through capability development and capacity-building programmes were facilitated," the statement added.
In response to piracy, the Indian Navy launched several anti-piracy operations, including those in the Gulf of Aden, where 127 ships have been deployed since 2008, and the Gulf of Guinea, where operations began in 2022. Additionally, the Navy has undertaken 13 anti-narcotics operations, seizing drugs worth approximately Rs 35,000 crore in the last three years, with the largest ever consignment by quantity seized in February 2024, amounting to 3,300 kgs of narcotics in the northern Arabian Sea, the defence ministry stated.
The Indian Navy has also participated in several multinational exercises, including the 28th edition of Exercise Malabar with Australia, Japan, and the US; RIMPAC at Pearl Harbour; and Exercise Varuna in the Mediterranean Sea, strengthening international naval partnerships.
The Indian Navy also took part in the eighth edition of the JIMEX maritime exercise with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force and in Exercise Indra with the Russian Federation Navy.
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