120 pirates have been apprehended in 2011
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.
Source: PTI
