Question : Incidents of Piracy

(a) the number of piracy attempts made on Indian merchant vessels and sailors held hostage during each of the last three years and the current year;
(b) the losses incurred as a result thereof during the said period;
(c) whether a few Indian sailors have still been held hostage by pirates and if so,
the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government to
get them released;
(d) whether the Government has laid down specific guidelines, mechanisms and
procedures to prevent piracy attempts at sea; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and if not,the reasons therefor?

(a): No Indian Merchant vessel has been hijacked during the last three years and the current year. An Indian Mechanized Sailing vessel ‘ AlKausar’ was hijacked off the coast of Somalia on 31.03.2017 and was having 10 Indian crew. The vessel was subsequently released on 12.04.2017.
(b): No loss of life was reported during the hijack of mechanized sailing vessel ‘Al Kausar’ and all the crew members were released unharmed.
(c): No Indian sailor is currently held hostage by pirates.
(d)&(e):An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMGO) was set up by the Government under the Ministry of Shipping to deal with the hostage situation arising out of the hijacking at sea of merchant vessels with Indian crew. Government had also approved the Contingency



Plan for dealing with piracy and hijacking of merchant ships and constituted a Committee of Secretaries on Anti-Piracy and Hijacking at sea (COSAPH) under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary. In addition to this, the following anti –piracy measures have been put in place for Indian flag merchant vessels and sailing vessels:
(i) Guidelines for anti-piracy measures to be implemented on Indian Ships through issue of Merchant Shipping Notice No.1 of 2011 dated 14.1.2011. The guidelines provide for elaborate anti-piracy measures (Best Management Practices), including safe house/citadel for vessels.
(ii) Banning of sailing vessels to ply in waters south or west of the line joining Salalah and Male through Merchant Shipping Notice No. 3/2010 dated 31.3.2010.
(iii) Advisory issued by Directorate General of Shipping vide Notice No. 35-NT(2)/2017 dated 6th April, 2017 for not transiting through Gulf of Aden.
(iv) Naval escort provided by Indian naval ships in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.
(v) Enhanced vigil by the Indian Navy in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and westward upto 65 degree east longitude.
(vi) Active participation by India in the security meetings of the International Maritime Organization, Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia(CGPCS) and other international fora.
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