| Battle of Minicoy Island | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofPiracy off the coast of Somalia | |||||||
_and_INS_Chetlat_(T70)_cruise.jpg) Car Nicobar-class patrol vessel | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 India | Somali pirates | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Arun Bahuguna | Usman Salad[1] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1patrol vessel | 1 trawler | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 10 killed 15 captured 1 trawler sunk | ||||||
| 20 hostages rescued | |||||||
TheBattle of Minicoy Island was asingle ship action in January 2011 between Indian naval forces andSomali pirates, duringOperation Island Watch. Pirates in the former Thaifishing trawlerPrantalay 14 resisted and attacked theIndian Navy patrol vesselINSCankarso and, in a long surface action offMinicoy Island, the Indians sank the hostile ship and rescued twenty captives.[2]
Prantalay 14 had operated as a piratemothership in the Indian Ocean for several months before her sinking. After its capture, its Thai owners refused to pay a ransom for the return of the ship and its crew and four of its original crewmembers died of starvation while the crew was kept hostage by the pirates.[3]
Early in the morning of 28 January,Indian Coast GuardDornier 228 aircraft on a routine patrol detected twoskiffs andPrantalay 14 chasing theBahamiancontainer ship MVVerdi 300 miles (480 km) west of theLakshadweep Islands. The pirates in the skiffs spotted the aircraft and immediately abandoned the attack and sailed back toPrantalay 14. The aircraft reported the sighting and three Indian Navy ships were dispatched, including the 325-ton INSCankarso, aCar Nicobar-classpatrol vessel under the command of Commander Arun Bahuguna.Cankarso was armed with a 30-millimeterCRN 91naval gun and two 12.7-millimeter machine guns. A few hours after receiving the Coast Guard's reportCankarso foundPrantalay 14 about 100nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) north of Minicoy.Cankarso's radioman tried to contact the pirates, but was ignored, so a warning shot was fired towards the pirates, who returned fire withrocket propelled grenades andAK-47s. An exchange of fire commenced and lasted for twelve hours before shots from the CRN 91 heavily damaged the trawler.[2][4]
Fuel drums that were stowed on the upper deck ignited andPrantalay 14 began to burn. At that point the survivors abandoned ship so the Indians ceased firing. Thirty-five men went into the water, of whom fifteen were pirates and twenty were Thai andMyanmar sailors on the vessel when the pirates captured it. Ten pirates were killed in the engagement, and the rest were taken toMumbai inCankarso as prisoners. There are no indications that any Indian sailors were harmed.Mumbai Police have confirmed that they have registered a case against the pirates for attempt to murder and various other provisions under theIndian Penal Code andForeigners Act after entering national waters without authorization.Prantalay 14 burned for hours before sinking, during whichINSKalpeni and the Coast Guard shipICGSSankalp arrived and assisted inrescue operations. A week or so later, the Indian training shipINS Tir capturedPrantalay 11, another former Thai trawler which had been captured by pirates.[5][2][6]
The Indian commander, Arun Bahuguna was awarded theNau Sena Medal for his role in the engagement.[7] The captured pirates were taken to India for trial where they were charged with kidnapping, kidnapping for ransom, attempted murder, and weapons related offenses.[8] As none of the pirate's former hostages appeared as witnesses, the pirates were acquitted of kidnapping for ransom and sentenced in August 2017 to seven years imprisonment on the remaining charges. The pirates had spent six and a half years in prison prior to their sentencing.[8]
