{"id":38934,"date":"2024-01-06T10:49:59","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T05:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=38934"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T18:26:14","slug":"maritime-piracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/maritime-piracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Navy thwarts hijacking attempt in Arabian Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in news?<\/li>\n<li>What is Maritime Piracy?<\/li>\n<li>What are the threats posed by maritime piracy?<\/li>\n<li>Steps taken by India to combat maritime piracy<\/li>\n<li>News Summary: Indian Navy thwarts hijacking attempt in Arabian Sea<\/li>\n<li>Key highlights<\/li>\n<li>Recent hijacking incident in the region<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in news?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Indian warship INS Chennai and its marine commandos thwarted the attempted hijack of a Liberia-flagged merchant vessel.<\/li>\n<li>It safely rescued its 21 crew members, including 15 Indians, in north Arabian Sea.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Maritime Piracy<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As per the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), maritime piracy is when people on a private boat or ship commit crimes like kidnapping, violence, or robbery for personal gain.\n<ul>\n<li>UNCLOS is an international treaty which was adopted and signed in 1982 in Montego Bay, Jamaica<\/li>\n<li>It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world&#8217;s oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>This happens on the open sea and is targeted at another vessel or its people and property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Threats posed by maritime piracy<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Physical Harm, Kidnapping and Associated Humanitarian Concerns:\n<ul>\n<li>Pirates can physically harm crew members and passengers, and they often kidnap individuals for ransom.<\/li>\n<li>Crew members and passengers may experience trauma and psychological distress as a result of piracy incidents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Disruption of Trade\n<ul>\n<li>Piracy can disrupt maritime trade routes, causing delays in the delivery of goods and impacting global trade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Economic Losses\n<ul>\n<li>Businesses may suffer financial losses due to stolen cargo, <u>ransom payments, increased insurance premiums<\/u>, and the cost of implementing anti-piracy measures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Impact on Fishing Industry\n<ul>\n<li>Pirates sometimes target fishing vessels, affecting the livelihoods of fishermen and the availability of seafood.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Environmental Risks\n<ul>\n<li>Pirates may engage in illegal activities, such as oil theft or dumping pollutants, posing environmental threats to marine ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Security Concerns\n<ul>\n<li>The presence of piracy raises security concerns for coastal regions and international waters, requiring increased naval and maritime security efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Global Security\n<ul>\n<li>Piracy can be linked to broader security issues, such as terrorism and organized crime, creating challenges for international security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Steps taken by India<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Operational steps\n<ul>\n<li>Indian govt has deployed naval ships with armed helicopters to patrol the piracy prone areas.<\/li>\n<li>The Indian Navy commenced anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden from October 2008.<\/li>\n<li>In recent years, <u>task Groups comprising destroyers and frigates<\/u> have been deployed to undertake maritime security operations and render assistance to merchant vessels in case of any incident.<\/li>\n<li>Also, aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles has been enhanced to have a complete maritime domain awareness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>India participates in the various multilateral fora set up to combat piracy\n<ul>\n<li>The <u>Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)<\/u> is a government-to-government agreement that aims to enhance multilateral cooperation among 16 regional countries.<\/li>\n<li>The <u>Regional Maritime Security Initiative<\/u> (RMSI) is a partnership between regional nations with varying capabilities and capacities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Institutions created by India\n<ul>\n<li>The Navy\u2019s <u>Information Management and Analysis Centre<\/u> (IMAC) and <u>Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region<\/u> (IFC-IOR) are institutions involved in maintaining maritime security.<\/li>\n<li>Besides, Indian Navy also coordinates with Coast Guard to maintain enhanced surveillance within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Legislative steps\n<ul>\n<li>India enacted the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022 to give effect to arrest and prosecute pirates and strengthen the fight against piracy.<\/li>\n<li>Also, the government\u2019s <u>SAGAR (Security and Growth For All in the Region) Doctrine<\/u> provides a framework for maritime co-operation in the Indian Ocean region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>News Summary<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Indian Navy secured and safely evacuated all 21 crew members, including 15 Indians, from the merchant vessel Lila Norfolk after it came under a hijacking attempt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Key highlights<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The ship, Lila Norfolk, sent a message via the UK Maritime Trade Operations portal when it was about 460 nautical miles off the coast of Eyl, Somalia.<\/li>\n<li>The message reported a possible boarding by five to six unknown armed individuals.<\/li>\n<li>In response, the Indian Navy diverted the INS Chennai, a destroyer on anti-piracy patrol nearby.<\/li>\n<li>Additionally, a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) flew over the ship in the morning and made contact, ensuring the safety of the crew.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Recent hijacking incident in the region<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/editor_images\/2024\/1\/6\/10\/17\/33\/6598db651e5f6005954af509_OI.PNG\" alt=\"\" \/><\/li>\n<li>There have also been a series of attacks on merchant ships by Houthi rebels in Yemen in the Red Sea as well as the Arabian Sea.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1)\u00a0What is the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)?<\/h3>\n<p>The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) is the first government-to-government agreement that addresses the incidence of piracy and armed robbery in Asia. The ReCAAP initiative aims to enhance multilateral cooperation among sixteen regional countries.<\/p>\n<h3>Q2)\u00a0What is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for marine and maritime activities. It was adopted in 1982 and defines the rights and obligations of States Parties with respect to the maritime environment.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/indian-navy-responds-to-hijack-attempt-of-a-liberian-flagged-vessel-in-arabian-sea-deploys-ins-chennai\/article67708913.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Indian Navy thwarts hijacking attempt in Arabian Sea<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/idsa.in\/askanexpert\/IndianGovernmenttocombatpiracyintheIndianOcean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>IDSA<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/indian-navy-thwarts-hijack-attempt-rescues-21-crew-members-including-15-indians\/articleshow\/106582431.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Times of India<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UNCLOS is an international treaty which was adopted and signed in 1982 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-38934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}