The 35 pirates who were apprehended from pirate vessel Ruen during a 40-hour operation last week were brought to Mumbai and handed over to the police for prosecution, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar said on Saturday. He also announced that the Indian Navy’s maritime security operations under the aegis of Operation Sankalp in the Gulf of Aden have completed 100 days.
“If there is disorder at sea caused by pirates, Houthis or whoever, trade gets disrupted. Then it has to come all around Africa through the Cape of Good Hope and the insurance rates will go up. Finally, who will pay that cost? You and me, the citizens, the common man. Therefore our effort is to ensure that our trade continues safely and we get what we want at the price we are supposed to get and not at a higher price,” Admiral Kumar said addressing a press conference. “We are the largest resident naval power in the Indian Ocean. The ocean is named after India and I think it is Bharti Nausena’s [Indian Navy] responsibility to ensure that Indian Ocean Region [IOR] remains safe, secure, and stable. We will ensure that it is free, open, inclusive and rules-based order is maintained.”
On the impact of the Red Sea crisis, Admiral Kumar said the High Risk Area (HRA) is already back in many ways and some notifications have already been issued by agencies from London. The insurance rates have gone up “by almost 35% to 40% and container costs have gone up from $500 to $2,000-plus”, he said and almost 40% to 50% of the companies have started re-routing their ships around the Cape of Good Hope.
