'The INS Tabar (pictured) closed in on the mother vessel and asked her to stop for investigation. But on repeated calls, the vessel's threatening response was that she would blow up the naval warship' if it approached, Navy spokesman Nirad Sinha said.
NEW DELHI - AN INDIAN warship has destroyed a pirate 'mother vessel' after a battle off the coast of Somalia, officials said on Wednesday.
Navy spokesman Nirad Sinha said a stealth frigate, the INS Tabar, open fire on the ship in the Gulf of Aden late on Tuesday after coming under attack from gunmen on board the vessel.
'This vessel was similar in description to the 'mother vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins,' Mr Sinha said in New Delhi.
'The INS Tabar closed in on the mother vessel and asked her to stop for investigation. But on repeated calls, the vessel's threatening response was that she would blow up the naval warship' if it approached, he said.
Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of the main vessel with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, he said.
'The vessel... subsequently fired on the INS Tabar, and the warship retaliated in self defence,' he said. 'Explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel.' A senior navy source said the warship used heavy guns to 'completely destroy' the pirate vessel.
'From what we see in photographs the pirate vessel is completely destroyed,' the officer said on condition he not be named.
The clash came a week after the Indian frigate, which was deployed to the area last month, rescued the Saudi Arabia-registered merchant vessel 'MV Timaha' and a 38,000-tonne Indian bulk carrier from pirates.
The frigate 'has successfully escorted 35 ships, including a number of foreign-flagged vessels, safely during their transit through the Gulf of Aden and also prevented two hijacking attempts,' a navy statement said.
'The Indian navy has been patrolling the piracy-infested waters in keeping with the government guidelines to protect our seaborne trade, instill confidence in our seafaring community and function as a deterrent for pirates,' it added.
The Gulf of Aden effectively controls access to the Suez Canal, which allows ships to go from Europe to Asia without having to take the much longer and more expensive route around the southern tip of Africa.
NATO, the United States and a number of European nations have all sent ships to the region to try to halt an explosion in piracy. -- AFP
