Friday, November 21, 2008

INS Tabar takes on Somali pirates











The Indian Navy has proved its mettle once again. Sent to weed out the sea pirate menace in the Gulf of Aden, the naval warship INS Tabar sank a pirate 'mother ship' after a fierce gunbattle.
Ever since its arrival on the Gulf of Aden, INS Tabar has successfully escorted 35 ships, including a number of foreign-flagged vessels, safely during their transit through pirate-infested waters in the region and also prevented two hijacking attempts on November 11.
The first time the INS Tabar encountered pirates was on November 11.
In a swift action, warship INS Tabar intervened to thwart two near-simultaneous attacks by pirates on an Indian cargo vessel MV Jag Arnav and a Saudi flag carrier MV NCC Thihama within 25 nautical miles of each other.
The Indian warship received an SOS from the Saudi ship at around 1000 hours after a group of pirates surrounded it. Marine commandos on board the INS Tabar flew out in an armed helicopter and launched an assault on the attackers, who were in five speed boats, forcing them to flee.

Even as this operation was on, the warship received a panic call from MV Jag Arnav, a merchant vessel owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, with about 20 crew members on board.
The INS Tabar, sent 'an armed helicopter with marine commandos...' to intervene and prevent the hijacking, the Indian Navy said. After having valiantly fought the pirates, INS Tabar will soon be back home following the central government's decision to send a larger warship into the region. Media reports said a Delhi class destroyer, INS Mysore, will replace INS Tabar in the Gulf of Aden.
The 6,900-ton Delhi class destroyers are the largest indigenously built warships till date and pack more fire power than frigates. INS Mysore carries on board two Sea King helicopters, along with a Cheetah or a Chetak, and stock 16 Uran missiles, 100mm AK 100 Gun, four multi-barrel 30mm AK 630 gun.
The presence of the destroyer in the pirate-infested region of Arabian Sea will strengthen India's efforts to demonstrate its military power against the sea brigands, sources said.

No comments: