Anti-piracy operations highlight of navy’s tableaux
By IANSFriday, January 22, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Indian Navy will showcase its successful anti-piracy operations in the international waters of Gulf of Aden during this year’s Republic Day parade.
The tableaux of the Indian Navy will comprise a dummy helicopter, the marine commandos known as ‘Marcos’ and the Somalian pirates surrendering before them.
The Indian Navy’s anti-piracy operations have been extremely successful. It has projected the Indian Navy as true blue water force and the international maritime powers are now keen to interact with us, Commodore Sunil Jaitly told reporters at a press conference here.
Piracy off the Somalian coast has grown steadily over the years and has now assumed alarming proportions. A total of 195 piracy incidents were reported in 2009, surpassing those reported in 2008. These attacks were reported in and around Somalia, the Seychelles and off the Oman coast. Of these, 147 attempts were successfully prevented and only 48 ships were hijacked.
With the bulk of Indian trade passing through the Gulf of Aden, an Indian Navy warship has been deployed in the region since Oct 23, 2008.
A total of 800 ships, including 108 Indian flagged and 692 foreign flagged vessels, from 47 countries have been escorted safely by the Indian warship since 2008. During the anti-piracy operations, the Indian Navy has thwarted 15 piracy attempts on the merchant vessels, Jaitly added.
The second component of the tableux comprises of the Shivalik class ship, which will be inducted in the navy in April.
Shivalik is the first of the multi-role stealth frigates of the Indian Navy built at the Mazgaon Docks Ltd, Mumbai. Conceived and designed by the Indian Navy design team, Shivalik class will remain the mainstay frigates of the force in the first half of the 21st century, said Jaitly.
The sensors and the weapons on board the ship are also manufactured by the Indian Navy and Indian public sector units.
With its ability to detect and engage surface, air and sub-surface targets at extended ranges, the ship is a virtual ‘Brahma Astra’ when unleashed, he added.
