Somalia/India

Indian navy blew up fishing boat, not pirate ship

Article published on the 2008-11-26 Latest update 2008-11-26 12:54 TU

Vessel blown up by Indian Navy on 18 November 2008
(Photo: Reuters/India Defence Ministry/Handout)

The pirate ship the Indian navy said it blew up on 18 November turns out to have been a hijacked Thai fishing vessel, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The Indian navy had said the ship was a ‘mothership’ for Somali pirates who have plagued the Suez Canal in recent months.

Speaking from the IMB's piracy reporting centre in Malaysia, the bureau's Noel Choong said the ship was actually a Thai-operated fishing trawler that had been taken over by pirates off Yemen the same day.

Choong said that photos of the hijacked ship had been sent out to the US-led coalition of navies patrolling the waters.

“The Indian navy may have not received this information,” he said. “They are not part of the coalition forces, and we have no direct link with them.”

The Indian navy said it had acted in self-defence and had only opened fire on the vessel after it fired.

“The Indian navy ship asked them to stop for investigation on repeated calls,” said Commander Nirad Sinha, a spokesperson for the navy in New Delhi. “The vessel responded by saying it would blow up the Indian ship.”

“Pirates were seen roaming on the deck with rocket-propelled grenade launchers,” he continued.

The owners of the boat, Sirichai Fisheries, based in Thailand, confirmed their deep sea trawler Ekawatnava 5 was destroyed.

One member of the crew, a Cambodian, was rescued by fishermen four days after the attack, but 14 others are still missing.

Choong said that navy ships operating independently should make contact with coalition forces and stay informed on hijacked vessels to avoid more “tragic” incidents.

The IMB has called piracy based out of Somalia an “out of control”  problem.

The Saudi Sirius Star oil tanker is still under control of Somali pirates, who seized it 11 days ago. They are still demanding a 25 million dollar (19.3 million euro) ransom by 30 November to release the vessel with its 25 crew members and two million barrels of crude oil.

The leader of the group that took over the ship, Mohammed Said, said on Tuesday that he wants an “honest dialogue in order to end the crisis”.

“Too much delay is not good fur us and for the owners of the tanker and the crew as well,” he said. “We are not threatening them, but we are urging them to be honest.”