India Rewards Pilot for Air-Drop Raid to Capture Somali Pirates
![Wing Commander Akshay Saxena's C-17 delivering commandos to the water by parachute, March 2024 (Indian Navy)](https://www.maritime-executive.com/media/images/article/Photos/Navy_Govt_CoastGuard/Ruen-Indian-Navy-commandos.a53590.jpg)
The Indian Air Force has awarded a medal for gallantry to a cargo jet pilot who dropped off the commando team that rescued the bulker Ruen from Somali pirates early last year.
On December 14, 2023, Somali pirates boarded the Bulgarian-operated bulker Ruen at a position about 380 nautical miles east of the island of Socotra, far out in the Arabian Sea. The attackers took 17 crewmembers hostage and navigated the vessel back towards the Somali coast, where they opened negotiations with the shipowner.
Unusually, the Ruen did not stay at anchor off Somalia for long. Instead, the pirates decided to pull up anchor and head for the Indian Ocean, likely to serve as a "mother ship" for conducting more pirate attacks.
On March 15, 2024, an Indian Navy long range maritime patrol intercepted the Ruen at a position about 260 nautical miles to the east of Somalia. The warships INS Kolkata and INS Subhadra took up position alongside the Ruen, and the pirates decided to open fire, shooting down one of the vessels' surveillance drones.
To resolve the standoff safely, the Indian military called up a team of 18 marine commandos and an Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft. The plan was to air-drop the commandos and their inflatable rubber boats into the ocean near the Ruen, like a U.S. Air Force pararescue team.
Wing Commander Akshay Saxena (IAF) headed up the airdrop operation as pilot of the C-17. The intervention came with a risk of small arms fire, and would require Saxena to navigate through another nation's airspace for four hours, undetected and without authorization.
The C-17 and the raiding team got under way in short order. Saxena turned off the airplane's transmitters and dropped to a low level to avoid detection. As they approached the drop zone, the location of the intercept changed, and the aircrew adapted, according to Saxena's commendation. Without issue, Saxena made the airdrop, and the 18 commandos parachuted into the water. They conducted their boarding and forced 35 pirates aboard Ruen to stand down and surrender.
The Indian Ministry of Defense commended Saxena for "flawless execution of an extremely grueling mission" and for displaying "exceptional courage, dynamic leadership, outstanding professionalism, and steadfast determination."
In addition, the Indian Navy recommended another officer for a medal of gallantry for his efforts to save a hijacked Iranian dhow from another group of pirates. On February 2, 2024, operating from the warship INS Sharda, Lieutenant Commander Sourabh Malik and his commando squad carried out an opposed boarding of the fishing vessel Omari. Despite the hijackers' attempts to repel the boarding with "heavy and constant" small arms fire, seven armed pirates were captured and 19 fishermen were freed.
Crime Wave Continues Near Singapore with More Vessels Boarded
![pirates Singapore Strait](https://www.maritime-executive.com/media/images/article/Photos/Pirates_MaritimeSecurity/Pirate-robber-boat-in-Singapore-Strait.2ca03a.jpg)
Security consultants and the monitoring operation ReCAAP are warning of increased activity in the region around the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. It continues the trend which saw 62 vessels boarded and robbed while underway in the region in 2024.
Since the start of the year, ReCAAP has received reports of seven incidents with all but one in the region west of Pulau Cula, Indonesia. All but one of the cases also involved bulkers underway while one was a general cargo ship. An additional concern is that in all but one of the reports, the crew said the pirates were armed with guns or knives or in one case were carrying steel bars.
Historically most of the cases were non-violent with the boarders feeling when they were discovered. However, more recent cases show a greater likelihood that they are carrying weapons, and many of the cases involve five or six people. So far, there have been no reports of injuries among the crews, but spare parts and other unsecured items have been reported stolen.
Beyond the area around the straits, there were two other incidents in anchorages in Indonesia and Bangladesh during January. The boarders were also armed and stole unsecured equipment.
ReCAAP in its end-of-year 2024 report highlighted that there had been a six percent increase in reports across Asia to a total of 107 incidents. That was the highest level in the past five years and also the first time since 2020 that hostages were taken and a FAME fuel oil cargo siphoned. Specifically, in the straits, there were 62 incidents in 2024.
Most of the incidents in the straits are happening in the eastbound lane south of Singapore. The most frequent target is bulkers, which made up three-quarters of the reports, and 84 percent of the incidents happened at night. The most dangerous time is between 0200 and 0300.
ReCAAP cautioned that there were more incidents involving perpetrators carrying knives and guns. On occasion, they have been used to threaten crews but not to harm individuals.
It continues to warn crews to exercise extra vigilance. At the same time, it calls on the local authorities to increase their patrols and enforcement to discourage the current crime wave.
The rise of incidents in Asia comes as many other parts of the world have reported a decline in crimes against ships. The Gulf of Guinea off West Africa had been one of the highest concerns but is again stable. The other area of concern was with Somali pirates who reemerged in 2024 with many reports linking it to the instability in the Red Sea and threats by the Houthi militants.
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