Indian Navy rescues 20 crew from hijacked fishing vessel off Somalia coast

In a swift operation that lasted for over 48 hours, the Indian Navy has rescued a hijacked fishing vessel with 20 crew members off the coast of Somalia. The vessel, Azini, was hijacked by armed pirates, the Navy said on Tuesday. The operation culminated in the safe rescue of all 20 crew members, with no casualties or injuries. The vessel was reported to have been hijacked by an armed pirate group earlier last month, off the northeastern coast of Somalia. "The hijacking represented a significant maritime security threat, with the possibility of the vessel being employed as a 'mother ship' for launching further pirate attacks against merchant shipping in the region," the Navy said. Responding to the situation, the Indian Navy tasked a mission-deployed warship to intervene, supported by a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, it said. "Working in close coordination, these platforms located the vessel after persistent surveillance, tracked its movements and employed calibrated non-kineti