Indian Navy destroyer INS Kolkata in the Arabian Sea during Exercise Malabar – 2020. (Photo: US Navy/Public domain.)
New Delhi: The Indian Navy has significantly increased its patrolling and maritime surveillance in central and northern Arabian Sea in response to the security incidents on commercial shipping vessels transiting through the international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the central-north part of the Arabian Sea, the service said on Sunday. This comes close to the heels of the hijacking of MV Ruen and the drone attack on India-bound MV Chem Pluto in the region.
MV Ruen was hijacked by Somali pirates around 700 nautical miles from the Indian coast, on December 14, 2023. The drone attack on India-bound MV Chem Pluto took place some 220 miles southwest of Gujarat’s Porbandar, on December 23, 2023. It is still not clear who launched the drone attack on MV Chem Pluto, although the US has pointed its finger towards Iran.
The Navy’s spokesman, Commander Vivek Madhwal, the force has formed task groups comprising destroyers and frigates and deployed them to undertake maritime security operations and assist commercial ships, in case of any incident. The task force includes INS Chennai, INS Kochi, INS Kolkata, INS Mormugao, and INS Visakhapatnam.
Cdr Madhwal further said the Navy has stepped up its aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles to have a complete maritime domain awareness. It may be noted that the Navy uses Boeing P-8I long-range surveillance aircraft for surveillance and anti-submarine warfare. It also uses two General Atomics’ SeaGuardian drones for surveillance, which India has leased from the United States.
He also informed that the Navy is working in close coordination with the Indian Coast Guard for keeping a sharp eye over India’s EEZ (exclusive economic zone).
The Navy spokesman further said, “The overall situation is being closely monitored by the Indian Navy in coordination with national maritime agencies.”
As India Sentinels had reported in December 2023, the Gurgaon-based Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) played a key role in the Navy’s response to the MV Ruen hijacking. As reported on December 28, India is also going to launch the National Maritime Domain Awareness Centre (NMDAC), a marine watchdog, soon.
