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Indian Navy frees hijacked fishing vessel Azini from pirates off Somalia

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: PIB (Ministry of Defence); United Nations, UNCLOS Part VII text.

Indian Navy frees hijacked fishing vessel Azini from pirates off Somalia
Illustration (AI-generated)

The Indian Navy freed the hijacked fishing vessel Azini from armed pirates off Somalia, the Ministry of Defence said on 3 November 2026. All 20 crew members were rescued with no casualties after an operation of over 48 hours. A mission-deployed warship, a maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Marine Commandos airdropped by an Indian Air Force C-17 took part.

Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS3 · External Threats to Security; GS2 · International Institutions

Why this matters for UPSC

GS3 security and GS2 international law: the Indian Navy's anti-piracy role under UNCLOS. Prelims can ask how UNCLOS defines piracy and who may seize pirates; Mains, India's maritime security role.

Why it matters

Pirates who seize a fishing boat off Somalia hold its crew captive and can use the boat to trap other sailors. That is why the Navy treated one hijacked fishing vessel as a regional threat. A captured boat gives pirates a floating base, so a small gang can reach merchant ships far from the coast. These waters carry trade routes the Navy calls vital, and every successful raid puts shipping and its crews at greater risk. Freeing the boat without a single casualty also shows that force at sea can be measured: the crew's safety came first, and the pirates were contained before they could strike again.

Prelims pointers

  • Article 101 of UNCLOS needs three elements for piracy: an act for private ends, by a private ship or aircraft, against another vessel or persons on board.
  • Look-alike: an attack inside a coastal State's territorial sea is not piracy under UNCLOS, which covers only the high seas or places outside any State's jurisdiction.
  • Article 107 of UNCLOS: a seizure for piracy may be made only by warships, military aircraft or clearly marked, authorised government ships or aircraft.
  • Under UNCLOS, a pirate ship may keep its nationality; the law of the State that granted it decides whether it is kept or lost.
  • Under UNCLOS, piracy by a warship whose crew has mutinied is treated as piracy by a private ship.
  • A State that seizes a ship on suspicion of piracy without adequate grounds is liable to the ship's flag State for the loss caused.
  • Part VII of UNCLOS reserves the high seas for peaceful purposes and bars any State from claiming sovereignty over them.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to piracy under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), consider the following statements:

1. Piracy covers illegal acts of violence committed for private ends by the crew of a private ship.

2. An armed attack on a ship inside a coastal State's territorial sea counts as piracy under UNCLOS.

3. Acts by a warship whose crew has mutinied and taken control are treated like acts of a private ship.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. UNCLOS piracy needs private ends and the high seas or a place outside any State's jurisdiction.

Statement 1: correct. Article 101 of UNCLOS covers violence, detention or depredation for private ends by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft.

Statement 2: incorrect. Article 101 covers acts on the high seas or outside any State's jurisdiction; a territorial sea lies within the coastal State's jurisdiction.

Statement 3: correct. Article 102 of UNCLOS assimilates acts by a mutinied warship's crew to acts of a private ship.

Eliminate: statement 2 is wrong because piracy is defined by place, the high seas. Out: (a), (b), (d).

Trap: Wrong scope. The statement stretches piracy into territorial waters, where the coastal State's own law applies, so a familiar idea of sea robbery looks like piracy.

Remember: UNCLOS piracy is private ends plus the high seas or a place outside any State's jurisdiction.

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