E-Paper
Ship attacked by pirates, escapes
A state-owned Indian ship with a 35- member crew on board was attacked by pirates with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the Arabian sea, barely 500 kms off the western coast but repulsed the strike before any harm could be done.
A state-owned Indian ship with a 35- member crew on board was attacked by pirates with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the Arabian sea, barely 500 kms off the western coast but repulsed the strike before any harm could be done.
An official said on Tuesday that some quick thinking by the Captain of the Shipping Corporation of India vessel Maharaj Agrasen helped prevent any threat to the lives of the crew after an unspecified number of sea brigands in speed boats in an apparent hijack bid struck late Monday night.
The vessel with crude oil as cargo was on its way to Vizhakapatnam from Kuwait.
“The incident took place late Monday night when a group of pirates in three speed-boats attacked the vessel with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. However, quick thinking by the ship’s captain saved the crew members,” National Union of Seafarers of India's General Secretary, Abdulgani Y Serang, told PTI here.
The Captain, after making an attempt to ram the ship into a pirate boat, changed the direction of the vessel and sped away.
