Indian Navy frees the hijacked fishing vessel Azini off the Somali coast

3 November 2026

The Ministry of Defence has announced that the Indian Navy has freed the hijacked fishing vessel Azini off the north-eastern coast of Somalia.
An armed group of pirates had seized the vessel earlier, and the operation to retake it ran for more than 48 hours.
A mission-deployed warship and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft located the vessel and kept track of it.
Non-kinetic measures were used so that the vessel could not slip away while help was brought in.
Marine Commandos were then put aboard through a precision airdrop made by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft.
All 20 crew members on the vessel were brought out safely, with no deaths and no injuries reported.
The release was issued by the Ministry of Defence in Delhi.