At his annual Navy Day press conference, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi mentioned the operation by Indian Navy Marine Commandos which rescued 17 crew members from a merchant ship hijacked by Somali pirates off the Somalian coast, “A well-coordinated deployment of our Marine Commandoes by IAF’s C-17, about 2000 Km from our shores resulted in the apprehension of the pirates and rescuing crew.”
A defining moment
Every military force has a defining moment that shapes its future. The IDF’s Op Thunderbolt, the SAS action during Iranian embassy siege, the USN SEALs’ Op Neptune Spear (the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011) are operations that put these forces on the world stage. Since their inception in 1987, the Indian Navy’s Marine Commandos or MARCOs have gained rich operational experience. MARCOs fought back four Pakistani terrorists and saved 150 hotel guests hiding inside The Chambers of the Taj hotel on the night of November 26, 2008. However, one recent operation has brought world attention to the force; the anti-Piracy Operation conducted onboard MV Ruen, 2600 km from the Indian shores.
Ongoing piracy incidents and attacks by Houthis have turned the Indian Ocean into a war zone which has diverted shipping lanes around the African continent, severely crippling world trade. At least 40 missile or drone attacks have been launched on the merchant ships and pirates have made or attempted 20 hijackings since November 2023.
On March 15, 2024, an Indian Naval Ship intercepted a hijacked merchant vessel, MV Ruen, off the Somalian Coast. Intelligence inputs indicated the presence of at least 35 pirates on board the ship who were holding 17 crew members hostage. In the ensuing exchange, pirates shot down a surveillance drone of the Indian Ship.
On 16 Mar 24, a MARCOs team comprising 18 operators along with their combat load were airlifted from Mumbai at short notice by IAF C17 to augment the Marcos team already deployed onboard the naval Ship for hostage rescue operation. The aircraft flew 2600 km across the Indian Ocean and paradropped commandos and combat load near the Indian Naval Ship. Very few special forces in the world are competent to carry out airborne insertion of such kind at sea. Few would have tried a drop at this range even for a training mission.
Para drop at sea is multitudes more complex than the drop over land owing to the additional dangers of sea elements taking charge which may result in extreme emergencies. The MARCOs team was inducted with the complete combat load required for the hostage rescue operation and two Combat Rubber Raiding Crafts. Later coercive tactics by the ship and MARCOs team broke the resolve of pirates and Op MV Ruen ended with the triumphant rescue of 17 crew members from Bulgaria, Myanmar and Angola, and the capture of 35 Somali pirates.
The anti-piracy operation carried out by the Indian Navy.
Complex operations
This rescue is significant because very few operations can match its complexity and distance from the own soil. Operation Thunderbolt, an air-landed hostage rescue operation over land, was conducted by IDF in 1976 about 4000 km from Israel with resounding success. Operation Eagle Claw, another air-landed hostage rescue operation, was attempted over land by US Special Forces in 1980 but was a despairing failure. In the maritime world, the only dramatic rescue of Captain Richard Philips after the hijacking of Maersk Alabama in 2009 by USN SEALS comes even close. The anti-piracy operation onboard MV Ruen will be etched in history as one of the biggest hostage rescue operations conducted at sea.
The incident has projected the Indian Navy as a combat-ready, credible, and cohesive force and as the ‘preferred security partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region. MARCOs are the tip of that spear who have arrived at the world stage ever ready to face even greater challenges in the future.
