Bulgarian-owned MV Ruen was hijacked in December 2023 in rare recent case of Somali piracy
Photograph: Indian Navy X/AFP/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Indian Navy X/AFP/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
The Indian warship Kolkata “in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender and ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members”, the navy said. Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said it was seeking the “speedy return” of seven rescued nationals. The other crew were nine Burmese and one Angolan.
The pirates, who at the time released one injured Bulgarian sailor into the care of the Indian navy, had taken the MV Ruen and its remaining 17 crew members to Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland, where the Indian navy said it was moored off the city of Bosaso.