Somali pirates striking off Lakshadweep: Navy
December 2nd, 2011 - 10:30 pm ICT by IANSKolkata, Dec 2 (IANS) Stating that Somali pirates have been expanding their area of operations rapidly, a senior Indian naval official Friday said the activities of the pirates have almost reached Lakshadweep, the tiniest union territory of India.
“Initially, they used to operate off the coast. Now they have changed their whole method of operation. They are hijacking a large number of ships… they have a large number of people as hostages. They are expanding their operations north and south. Now they have almost reached Lakshadweep,” Commodore Brian A. Thomas, naval officer-in-charge, West Bengal, told reporters here.
“The issue of Somali piracy has only come up from about 2008 onwards. There (in Somalia) no political system is functioning. So the youngsters found it (piracy) a very lucrative profession,” he said.
Informing that the pirates recently attempted to hijack a ship near Lakshadweep, Thomas said Indian Naval ships, however, stopped them.
“The pirates have been captured,” he added.
Piracy is widespread in the waters off Somalia, which has been in near-anarchy without a functioning government for almost two decades.
- Somali pirates hijack U.S.-operated container ship - Dec 11, 2010
- Another piracy attempt foiled, 16 pirates held - Mar 27, 2011
- Without UN effort, piracy elimination difficult: India - Jun 27, 2011
- Indian Navy warship deployed near Somali coast to free sailors - Apr 19, 2011
- Bangladesh loses communication with hijacked ship - Dec 07, 2010
- Somali pirates release Panama-flagged MV VOC Daisy - Oct 19, 2010
- Somali pirates hijack Thai cargo ship carrying 27 crew members - Dec 25, 2010
- Somali leader backs Indian action against pirates (Lead) - May 16, 2012
- Indian Navy captures 61 Somali pirates - Mar 14, 2011
- Somali pirates hijack German-owned ship with crew of 12 - Jan 26, 2011
- Somali pirates seize ship with 12 crew - Sep 25, 2010
- Somali pirates release Greek ship, then hijack another - Jan 17, 2011
- German-owned vessel released from pirate control released - Apr 14, 2011
- Indian Govt. mulling idea of having armed guards on merchant ships - Mar 15, 2011
- Will support Indian military action against pirates: Somali leader - May 15, 2012
Tags: anarchy, commodore, decades, hostages, India, kolkata, lakshadweep, lucrative profession, naval ships, navy, piracy, somali pirates, somalia, union territory, west bengal, youngsters