India Navy Takes Lead in Maritime Security Ops As Piracy Resurfaces

New Delhi: Indian Navy marks the completion of 100 days of the ongoing maritime security operations under the aegis of ‘Op Sankalp’. During this time, the Indian Navy has responded to 18 incidents and has played a pivotal role as the ‘First Responder’ and ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region. 

The significance of IN’s contributions have been further underscored with the culmination of actions against the hijacking of MV Ruen. Indian Navy has responded to the manifestation of Israel-Hamas conflict in the maritime domain.

100 Days Of Operation Sankalp

Based on the threat assessment in the region, the Indian Navy is conducting maritime security operations in three areas of operations viz Gulf of Aden and adjoining areas, Arabian Sea and off the East Coast of Somalia. The efforts of IN since Dec 23 involved deployment of over 5000 personnel at sea, over 450 ship days (with over 21 ships deployed) and 900 hours of flying by the maritime surveillance aircraft to address threats in the maritime domain.

Emergence Of Piracy

With the emergence of piracy in 2008, the Indian Ocean Region has witnessed steady increase in the presence of warships from regional and extra regional navies, operating independently or under the ambit of various Multi-National constructs. With over 110 lives saved (including 45 Indian sea farers), 15 lakh tons of critical commodities escorted (such as fertilisers, crude oil and finished products), nearly 1000 boarding operations undertaken, more than 3000 kgs of narcotics seized and over 450 MVs assured of IN’s presence, the ongoing maritime security operations have truly reflected Indian Navy's capability in playing a vital role as a strong and a responsible Navy in the IOR.

In the ongoing endeavour since Dec 2023, Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) of the Indian Navy at Gurugram, has played a transformative role as a principal hub for enabling information exchange in IOR. In addition, coordinated missions with IAF and national agencies during this period has also highlighted the synergy and inter-operability of the Services.