Indian Naval Ship Sukanya, deployed on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden under the operational control of the Western Naval Command, thwarted a multiple-boat attack by pirates on Thursday and rescued 26 Somali crewmembers.

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The ship was escorting a group of five merchant vessels through the internationally recognised transit corridor at 9:25 hours on Thursday when officers onboard detected a group of five boats approaching the merchant vessels.

The warship immediately changed its route and challenged the pirates ferrying the suspicious vessels

The pirates tried to reverse the course of the boats and tried to flee. Two managed to give the Indian Navy a slip, but the other three boats were intercepted.

During the operation, six AK 47 rifles, 12 magazines and about 300 rounds of ammunition were found and confiscated. In addition, a host of other equipment such as grapnels were also confiscated.

This is the fifth successful anti-piracy operation conducted by Sukanya, in the course of her ongoing patrol mission in the Gulf of Aden, which commenced in September. So far, the Indian Navy has confiscated 14 AK 47 Rifles, 31 magazines and 923 rounds of ammunition from pirates.