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Indian navy 'sank Thai trawler': Clarification sought

by Amitjha | November 26, 2008 at 12:17 am

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The owner of a Thai fishing trawler has said the Indian navy sank it off Somalia's coast last week after wrongly assuming it was a pirate "mother ship".

Wicharn Sirichaiekawat said the Indian frigate had attacked the Ekawat Nava 5 while it was being hijacked by pirates.

He said one of the crew had been found alive after six days in the Gulf of Aden, but that another 14 were missing.

The Indian navy has insisted the vessel fired in self-defence at a pirate ship which had been stacked with explosives.

Almost 40 ships have been seized by Somali pirates so far this year.

Earlier, the authorities in Yemen confirmed pirates had captured a cargo ship carrying building material off the country's coast. They said the pirates were demanding a ransom of $2m (£1.3m).

The latest incident came days after the Saudi oil tanker, Sirius Star, was hijacked. It was earlier moved further north up the Somali coast.

Indian authorities have rejected reports that the vessel INS Tabar took down off the coast of Somalia only 10 days ago, was infact a pirate ship.

Maintaining that INS Tabar had acted against a pirate vessel which had threatened to attack them, a naval spokesperson has told TV channel Times Now that the Tabar returned fire only after the pirates launched an aggressive assault. .

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Sanjay Jha

at 00:43 on November 26th, 2008

Yes, this has raised serious question about Indian navy's claim. After the owner of a Thai fishing trawler alleged the Indian navy sank its vessle. Indian Navy has refuted the allegation and said on Wednesday that the ship it attacked and sank in the Gulf of Aden was hostile.

"The vessel was similar in description to what was mentioned in various piracy bulletins," an Indian navy spokesman, Commander Nirad Sinha said.

"The Indian navy ship asked them to stop for investigation on repeated calls. The vessel responded by saying it would blow up the Indian ship... Pirates were seen roaming on the deck with rocket-propelled grenade launchers."

He said the Indian navy only opened fire after being fired upon, and that "exploding ammunition was also seen" on the target.

The Indian navy won international praise for taking on the Somali pirates, who have turned the vital Suez Canal trade route into the world's most dangerous waterway.