New Delhi, Mar 19: “India is committed to protecting freedom of navigation and combating piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean region,'' posted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X in response to Bulgarian President Rumen Radev's gratitude to the Indian Navy for its successful rescue operation in the Arabian Sea that rid a hijacked merchant vessel of pirates and freed 17 crew members including seven Bulgarians.
“Appreciate your message President. We are happy that 7 Bulgarian nationals are safe and will be returning home soon,” said PM Modi after Radev expressed “sincere gratitude to PM Modi for the brave action of Indian Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship “Ruen” and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens.
Earlier, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel had expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy for its successful rescue operation in the Arabian Sea.
“That's what friends are for,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had replied to his Bulgarian counterpart's post on X.
“I express my gratitude to the Indian Navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel Ruen & its crew members, including 7 Bulgarian nationals. Thank you for support and great effort. We continue to work together to protect the lives of the crew,” read Gabriel's post on X.
A C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force had executed a precision air-born drop of two boats along with Indian Navy MARCOS in the Arabian Sea on Saturday to rescue the crew and wrest back control of the ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates near the Yemeni island of Socotra.
“Flying for almost 10 hrs to an area 2,600 kms off the Indian Coast, the Op was carried out to rescue crew of bulk carrier vessel MV Ruen,” the Indian Air Force had posted on X.
The Navy had said in the rescue operation that lasted for 40 hours, INS Kolkata had blocked the passage of the hijacked ship and “successfully coerced all 35 pirates to surrender, ensuring the safe evacuation of 17 crew members from the pirate vessel without any injury.”
