New Delhi (AFP) - The navies of India and China carried out a joint operation Sunday to rescue a merchant ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian defence ministry said. They searched the ship and confirmed that the pirates had fled overnight. A boarding party from the nearby Chinese Navy ship then arrived on the merchant ship, while the Indian Naval helicopter provided air cover for the rescue operation. The Indian warships were in the region as part of an overseas deployment. Somali pirates began staging attacks on ships in 2005, disrupting major international shipping routes and costing the global economy billions of dollars.

Source: The Star April 09, 2017 11:37 UTC