New Delhi [India], December 27 (ANI): The Indian Navy, in guaranteeing maritime safety, deployed over 30 ships within the Western Arabian Sea and responded to greater than 25 incidents of Houthi delivery assaults and incidents of piracy up to now yr, the Ministry of Defence stated on Thursday.
In its Year Ender Review for 2024, the Ministry of Defence acknowledged that these operations had saved over 400 lives and that the Indian Navy had efficiently escorted over 230 service provider vessels, safeguarding over 90 lakh metric tonnes of cargo value greater than 4 billion USD within the Western Arabian Sea area as of November 2024.
“Over the last one year, in response to Houthi shipping attacks and rising incidents of piracy in the Western Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy has deployed over 30 ships in the region and has responded to over 25 incidents. The credible and swift actions of Indian Navy saved more than 400 lives, irrespective of the nationality of the crew. As of November 2024, Indian Navy has safely escorted over 230 Merchant Vessels, carrying over 90 Lakh Metric Tons of cargo, valued at over Four Billion USD,” the assertion learn.
As a part of its mission-based deployments, the Indian Navy has maintained a steady presence in vital areas of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), together with the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.
According to the ministry, these efforts align with India’s imaginative and prescient of ‘Security and Growth for All within the Region (SAGAR)’, specializing in enhancing maritime area consciousness, guaranteeing safety, and offering humanitarian help and catastrophe aid to IOR littoral states.
“Ships and aircraft were regularly deployed in the Gulf of Oman/Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden/Red Sea, South and Central IOR, off Sunda Strait, Andaman Sea/approaches to Malacca Strait, and Northern Bay of Bengal. These deployments aligned with the larger GoI vision of ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR),’ whereby enhanced maritime domain awareness, swift Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to IOR littorals, security to the Indian and international maritime community were ensured, and operational engagements with friendly navies through capability development and capacity-building programmes were facilitated,” the assertion added.
In response to piracy, the Indian Navy launched a number of anti-piracy operations, together with these within the Gulf of Aden, the place 127 ships have been deployed since 2008, and the Gulf of Guinea, the place operations started in 2022. Additionally, the Navy has undertaken 13 anti-narcotics operations, seizing medication value roughly Rs 35,000 crore within the final three years, with the most important ever consignment by amount seized in February 2024, amounting to three,300 kgs of narcotics within the northern Arabian Sea, the defence ministry acknowledged.
The Indian Navy has additionally participated in a number of multinational workouts, together with the twenty eighth version of Exercise Malabar with Australia, Japan, and the US; RIMPAC at Pearl Harbour; and Exercise Varuna within the Mediterranean Sea, strengthening worldwide naval partnerships.
The Indian Navy additionally took half within the eighth version of the JIMEX maritime train with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force and in Exercise Indra with the Russian Federation Navy. (ANI)