New Delhi: Navy warships have prevented 34
piracy attempts and apprehended 120 Somali pirates since their
deployment in the Gulf of Aden in October 2008.
"26 Indian Navy ships have been deputed in the Gulf of
Aden since October 2008. A total of 1,731 ships have been
escorted. 34 piracy attempts have been prevented by the Navy
there," Defence Minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha in
reply to a question.
He said a total of 120 pirates have been apprehended and
73 fishermen and crew rescued in four operations of Navy in
East Arabian Sea in 2011.
The Minister said the Navy was cooperating with other
navies operating there and the Arabian Sea.
Meanwhile, replying to another query, the Minister said
the Navy had also played a crucial role in rescuing a Chinese
merchant vessel from being hijacked by the pirates in May this
year.
Answering another query, the government denied that there
was a scam in the Defence Ministry`s department looking after
resettlement and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen.
PTI
