Battle of Minicoy Island

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Battle of Minicoy Island

Car Nicobar-class patrol vessel
Date28 January 2011
Location
Off Minicoy Island, Indian Ocean
Result Indian victory
Belligerents
 India Somali pirates
Commanders and leaders
Arun Bahuguna Usman Salad[1]
Strength
1 patrol vessel 1 trawler
Casualties and losses
None 10 killed
15 captured
1 trawler sunk
20 hostages rescued

The Battle of Minicoy Island was a

Somali pirates, during Operation Island Watch. Pirates in the former Thai fishing trawler Prantalay 14 resisted and attacked the Indian Navy patrol vessel INS Cankarso and, in a long surface action off Minicoy Island, the Indians sank the hostile ship and rescued twenty captives.[2]

Background

Prantalay 14 had operated as a pirate

mothership in the Indian Ocean for several months before her sinking. After its capture, its Thai owners refused to pay a ransom for the return of the ship and its crew and four of its original crewmembers died of starvation while the crew was kept hostage by the pirates.[3]

Battle

Early in the morning of 28 January,

rocket propelled grenades and AK-47s. An exchange of fire commenced and lasted for twelve hours before shots from the CRN 9 heavily damaged the trawler.[2][4]

Indian Navy press release about the operation, 29 January 2011.

Fuel drums that were stowed on the upper deck ignited and Prantalay 14 began to burn. At that point the survivors abandoned ship so the Indians ceased firing. Thirty-five men went into the water, of whom fifteen were pirates and twenty were Thai and

rescue operations. A week or so later, Indian naval forces of Operation Island Watch captured Prantalay 11, another former Thai trawler which had been captured by pirates.[5][2][6]

Indian Navy press release about the operation, 6 February 2011.

Aftermath

The Indian commander, Arun Bahuguna was awarded the Nau Sena Medal for his role in the engagement.[7] The captured pirates were taken to India for trial where they were charged with kidnapping, kidnapping for ransom, attempted murder, and weapons related offenses.[8] As none of the pirate's former hostages appeared as witnesses, the pirates were acquitted of kidnapping for ransom and sentenced in August 2017 to seven years imprisonment on the remaining charges. The pirates had spent six and a half years in prison prior to their sentencing.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Somalian pirates convicted for 2010 hijacking can return home in a year". 3 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Pirate Mother Ship Prantalay Sinks off Lakshadweep during Anti Piracy Operations by India. Marinebuzz.com.
  3. ^ "Five hostages starved to death on ship hijacked by Somali pirates | SAFETY4SEA". Archived from the original on 2 May 2017.
  4. ^ 15 pirates caught after 12-hour battle. NDTV (31 January 2011).
  5. ^ Indian Navy and Coast Guard Neutralize Pirate Mother Vessel >>. Naval Today.
  6. ^ Google News. News.google.co.in.
  7. ^ "India's I-Day Gallantry Award Winners & Why (Part 2) - Livefist". 14 August 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Somali Pirates Sentenced to Six Months Plus Time Served".

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