The addition of the indigenous guided missile warship to patrols in the region represents India's commitment to ensuring the safety of merchant vessels and providing assistance to sailors at sea, according to a Defense Ministry statement.
The military authority also provided details of the coordinated intervention in a kidnapping of six people from the 18-person Maltese-flagged ship MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea on December 14.
On 15 December, in response to a distress call from the damaged ship, a maritime patrol aircraft and the INS ship Kochi were dispatched to the area to confirm a hostage situation by intercepting and activating the MV Ruen integral helicopter in the early hours of 16 December.
It was also revealed that one of the crew members was injured but stable.
While no armed intervention was carried out to ensure the safety of the crew on board the hijacked MS, the warship took the necessary measures to ensure proper treatment of the hostages by the pirates, the source added.
Under the coordination of the Indian Navy, two warships, one Japanese and one Spanish, joined the rescue operation in Somalia's territorial waters on December 17.
As a result, INS Kochi managed to persuade the pirates to release the injured crew member in the early hours of December 18 so that he could receive medical treatment, first on board the Indian ship and later at a hospital in Oman due to his delicate situation, it said the Ministry of Defense.
yes/lrd