Indian dhows sail to Somalia for commercial considerations: navy

NEW DELHI - Despite the danger of being hijacked, several Indian dhows continue to run to the east coast of Africa and Somalia for commercial considerations, Indian Navy officials said Tuesday.

In view of the risk of piracy, most of the merchant vessels now transit through the Gulf of Aden where a large number of warships are deployed. Only limited number of vessels operate off the east coast of Africa or Somalia, a navy spokesperson said.

Several Indian dhows, however, continue to engage in regular trade between India and ports on the east coast of Africa and Somalia. The owners and crew of these dhows are fully aware of the risks and dangers of operating so close to the Somali coast, but they continue to do so probably for commercial considerations, he added.

According to Navy officials, partially built dhows are towed to Gulf countries where engines are fitted on them.

Those who fit engines on these dhows do not charge money, but ask the dhow owners for trade days. The dhow owners are asked to go to Somalia for trade. When these dhows start return journey, they are hijacked by pirates, the official said.

Pirates do not usually seek ransom from dhow owners. Since dhows are attractive vessels, they use it as mother ships to launch further piracy attacks on other merchant vessels. They keep the hijacked vessel till the time fuel and ration is left on board.

Last month, nearly 100 Indian sailors were captured and seven dhows seized by pirates off the Somali coast. Six dhows have been released by them.

The dhow owners and crew not only face threat from pirates, but also from international navies carrying anti-piracy patrolling in the sea.

These dhows can become target when being used by pirates, the official added. Two years ago, the Indian Navy had sunk a Thai vessel, which was abducted and operated by Somalian pirates.

The navy has now replaced INS Beas with INS Betwa for anti-piracy patrolling in the Gulf of Aden.

This is the 16th Indian Naval ship to be deployed since October 2008. During the same period, Indian naval ships escorted over 930 merchant ships of different nationalities, with over 7,780 Indians as crew. It included 124 Indian flagged merchant ships.

No merchant ship under the escort of an Indian Naval warship has been hijacked thus far and more than 15 piracy attempts have been prevented by the Indian naval warships, the official added.