NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy said it "coerced" all 35 pirates on the hijacked bulk carrier MV Ruen to surrender and evacuated its 17 crew members unharmed on Saturday evening.
The navy's guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata intercepted the vessel in international waters 2,600km from the Indian coast on Friday.
The warship was supported by the navy's P8I maritime patrol aircraft, a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA) and patrol vessel INS Subhadra during the operation.
Marine commandos were air-dropped by a C-17 transport aircraft.
The navy said that "through concerted actions" it "cornered and coerced" all pirates to surrender and safely evacuated the crew.
The Maltese-flagged merchant vessel was boarded by pirates on Dec14 near the Yemeni island of Socotra.
The Indian navy has adopted a tough posture in support of shipping amid heightened regional tensions. — Bernama