Indian Navy Frees Hijacked Fishing Vessel Azini Off Somalia: Anti-Piracy Law and Operations Explained
The Indian Navy freed the fishing vessel Azini, which armed pirates had hijacked off the north-eastern coast of Somalia in October 2026. All 20 crew members were released safely, with no deaths or injuries.
The operation lasted more than 48 hours. The Navy sent the warship INS Kolkata, supported by a maritime reconnaissance aircraft (a plane that watches the sea from the air).
The Navy's forces first found and tracked the vessel. They then used "calibrated non-kinetic measures" (pressure that stops short of firing weapons, such as blocking, warning and close shadowing) to stop the vessel from moving away or escaping.
Marine Commandos (MARCOS) were para-dropped into the area from an Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft. They then secured the vessel.
The Navy said the pirates could have used the Azini as a "mother ship": a larger base vessel from which small, fast boats are launched to attack merchant ships far out at sea.
Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022
The Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022 is India's first law made only to deal with piracy at sea. It defines what piracy is, sets strict punishments for it, and gives Indian courts the power to try pirates even when the crime happened far from India's coast, against a foreign ship, by foreign nationals. It brings into Indian law the anti-piracy rules of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which India ratified in 1995.
The Azini rescue is exactly the kind of case this Act was written for: a foreign fishing vessel hijacked by pirates on the high seas off Somalia. Because of the 2022 Act, the Navy's work at sea can now be followed by a proper trial in an Indian Designated Court, instead of pirates being released for lack of a legal basis.
Freedom of Navigation and the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the main international treaty that sets the rules for the world's oceans. It divides the sea into zones (territorial sea, EEZ, high seas) and decides what each country can do in each zone. It also protects the right of all ships to sail freely on the open sea. One of its important parts deals with piracy: it treats pirates as enemies of all countries, so any country's warship can act against them on the high seas.
The Azini was hijacked off Somalia's coast and held at sea, where UNCLOS gives every navy the right to act against pirates. India used this international right through INS Kolkata, an aircraft and Marine Commandos, and its own Maritime Anti-Piracy Act turns those UNCLOS rules into punishable crimes in Indian courts.
Net Security Provider (NSP) Doctrine and the Indian Ocean Region
A net security provider is a country that gives more security to its region than it takes from it. It is the country its neighbours can count on in a crisis: to fight pirates, protect sea routes, and help during cyclones or other disasters. India sees itself as the main net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. Anti-piracy operations off Somalia and in the Arabian Sea are one of the clearest ways India shows this role.
By rescuing all 20 crew of the Azini and stopping it from becoming a pirate "mother ship", India protected not only this boat but every merchant ship that sails in the region. This is the net security provider idea in action: a regional navy that keeps the shared sea lanes safe for everyone.
MARCOS (Marine Commandos)
MARCOS, short for Marine Commandos, is the special forces unit of the Indian Navy. Its official name is the Marine Commando Force (MCF). These are small teams of very highly trained soldiers who can fight at sea, under water, from the air and on land. They are used for the hardest missions: freeing hijacked ships, rescuing hostages, fighting terrorists, raiding enemy positions from the sea and guarding against infiltration. They are often called India's most versatile special forces, because few units in the world are trained for all of sea, air and land.
In the Azini rescue, MARCOS were para-dropped from an IAF C-17 to take control of the hijacked fishing vessel after the Navy had boxed it in using non-kinetic measures. This repeats the model first used in the MV Ruen rescue of 2024, and shows why a small, highly trained sea-air-land force is central to India's anti-piracy role.
- Vessel: fishing vessel Azini, hijacked off north-eastern Somalia in October 2026
- Crew rescued: 20, with no casualties or injuries
- Operation duration: more than 48 hours
- Assets used: warship INS Kolkata, a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, MARCOS para-dropped from an IAF C-17
- Method: "calibrated non-kinetic measures" to contain the vessel and prevent its escape
- Risk avoided: the vessel could have served as a pirate "mother ship" for attacks on merchant ships
- Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022: assent 31 January 2023, in force 22 February 2023
- UNCLOS piracy articles: 100 to 107 (definition in Article 101, seizure in Article 105)
- Indian Navy anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden: since 2008
- MARCOS: raised 1987, renamed Marine Commando Force in 1991