Navy averts pirate attack on Chinese vessel

Mumbai, May 6 (PTI) Indian Navy averted a pirate
attack on a Chinese merchant vessel sailing in the Arabian sea
by sending its maritime reconnaissance aircraft that forced
the sea brigands to abandon the ship and flee, officials said
Friday.
According to Navy officials, at about 08:45 hrs
yesterday, authorities received a distress call about a pirate
attack on Chinese cargo vessel 'MV Full City', sailing about
450 nautical miles west of Karwar in Karnataka. Over 20
Chinese crew members in the vessel locked themselves in safe
rooms of the ship.
The Navy, that was also co-ordinating with NATO
counter-piracy task force, the Chinese task force and the
maritime rescue co-ordination centre at Beijing, immediately
diverted its TU 142 aircraft, which was on an anti-piracy
patrol, and a Coast Guard ship towards the vessel.
The aircraft reached the vessel in less than 30
minutes and found a pirate mother ship next to the vessel and
an empty skiff used by the brigands, believed to be from
Somalia, a Coast Guard official said.
"The aircraft made a number of low passes over the
ship and sternly asked the pirates through radio to leave the
ship immediately," said Defence spokesman Captain M Nambiar.
The warning had the desired effect and the skiff fled
from the Chinese vessel along with the pirates and headed for
its mother ship nearby, Nambiar said.
As there were no surface forces in the immediate
vicinity to board the ship and sanitise it, the aircraft
maintained a vigil for over three hours, he added.
The vessel later continued its passage through the
waters of the Arabian Sea.