By N. C. Bipindra

With the changing sea line of communication and the economy’s eastward shift, maritime security has become one of the most substantial economic and human security pillars.

Since the 2004 tsunami, the Indian Navy has consistently proven itself as the first responder to any crisis in the Indian Ocean region, showcasing its readiness and reliability in such situations.

Historically, the world remembers 2007-2008 as the year the global economic recession hit the world the hardest before recovering from it in 2009. During this economic downturn, another phenomenon began at a scale that shook the large economies dependent on the maritime trade routes.

When global economies began downsizing, pirates based out of Somalia made their mark. 2008 witnessed the scantily clad, skiff-operating pirates making their foray well beyond Somali waters into the Gulf of Aden and the North Western Arabian Sea.

The world was forced to take notice. The Indian Navy quickly realized the security puzzle that could have been unleashed and the economic downside as second- and third-degree effects.

As insurance rates in the maritime industry soared and supply chains faced disruptions, the Indian Navy took proactive measures. In 2008, they initiated anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa, demonstrating their leadership and commitment to combatting piracy.

Since 2008, the Indian Navy has effectively deployed its ships; subsequently, maritime patrol aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft in the Gulf of Aden and the East coast of Africa have ensured that nearly 4,000 vessels and over 25,000 seafarers have been safely escorted.

With consistent efforts by navies from multiple countries, piracy off the Horn of Africa tapered down from its peak of 237 incidents in 2011 to 75 in 2012 to only 15 in 2013. By 2014, while the incidents had come down, the number of successful hijackings had been reduced to a handful.

The last successful hijacking off Somalia was in 2017. Proactive actions by like-minded navies made piracy a rare event in the region. Instead, piracy began rising on the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea.

With the security situation downturn in the Gulf region following attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman in June 2019, the Indian Navy commenced a maritime security operation, code-named ‘Op SANKALP,’ on June 19, 2019.

Like the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, Op Sankalp aimed to ensure the safe passage of Indian-flagged vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

This operation was progressing in close coordination with myriad stakeholders, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and DG Shipping. The Gulf of Aden is critical to the global economy, as over 21,000 ships cross this maritime region annually.

By the end of 2023, the focus of many major powers shifted to the spiraling conflicts between Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine. The Houthis began attacks of their own, where suicide drones and ballistic missiles began threatening maritime trade, passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Many maritime nations faced a new challenge, with their military assets and budgets stretched thin. With naval forces distracted, the time was ripe for Somali pirates to make a comeback.

The maritime world was reminded of Somali piracy on December 14, 2023, when a Maltese-flagged vessel, MV Ruen, was hijacked off Somalia approximately 700 nautical miles east of Bosaso.

The MV Ruen incident brought to the limelight what the Indian Navy was quietly doing. While the crew had initially secured themselves in the ship’s citadel, the pirates soon breached it and took complete possession of the vessel and the crew.

In less than 24 hours, the Indian Navy’s patrol aircraft began tracking it. When a crew member needed medical attention, INS Kochi evacuated and transferred him to a port in Oman.

Fast-forward to March 2024. In a mission lasting over 40 hours, now folklore, multiple teams of Indian Navy Marine Commandos embarked onboard INS Kolkata and parachuted by an IAF aircraft, raided the MV Ruen, overpowered the pirates, and rescued the entire crew. MV Ruen became such a widely acclaimed success for the Indian Navy because of the criticality of the situation.

In the northern Indian Ocean, to safeguard maritime communication routes. The statistics for the total number of multinational forces were almost the same. The Indian Navy’s most significant deployment in the area has occurred outside of other international initiatives. It is not related to the current US-UK military campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

This deployment represents a massive change from earlier deployments in these locations, both in terms of strength and the scope of the ongoing mission. By May 2024, the Indian Navy had sent more than 5,000 people at sea, completed more than 500 ship days, and maintained nearly constant aerial surveillance operations using RPAs and maritime surveillance aircraft to counter threats in the marine domain.

Due to the combined efforts, over 450 boats were investigated in less than six months. To the Indian Navy’s credit, none of its northern Indian Ocean-related activities have come at the expense of its regular obligations. Despite the high risks and increased expectations in the north Indian Ocean, all roles—diplomatic, law enforcement, or humanitarian—continue uninterrupted.

The ongoing maritime security operations have indeed demonstrated the Indian Navy’s ability to play a crucial role as a strong and responsible Navy in the IOR, as evidenced by the over 150 lives saved—including 60 Indian seafarers—20 lakh tonnes of critical commodities escorted (such as fertilizers, crude oil, and finished products), nearly 1000 boarding operations carried out, over 4,000 kg of drugs seized—including a record haul of 3,300 kg by INS Trishul—and the investigation of over 450 MVs. Below is a partial, non-exhaustive summary of some of the Indian Navy’s interventions in the Arabian Sea throughout the last six months.

One cannot stress the importance of keeping the north Indian Ocean in order. Connecting Europe, Africa, and Asia, the Suez Canal is a vital choke point that separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea.

By 2023, the route accounted for 12% and 15% of all trade volumes worldwide. Its strategic importance to the world economy is enormous, accounting for 25% to 30% of all container shipping, 12% of seaborne oil, 8% of seaborne liquified natural gas, and 8% of the grain trade in recent years.

Energy commerce via the marine highway is an unavoidable source of income for the larger Gulf economies. For example, 40% of Saudi Arabia’s and Qatar’s GDP and 50% of Kuwait’s are derived from hydrocarbon exports.

The criticality of these statistics, mentioned above, lies in how delicately economic and human security are linked. In the recent decade, the Indian Navy has positioned itself from a first responder to a net security provider in the Indian Ocean arena of the Indo-Pacific.

This quiet professionalism is coupled with India’s strategic imperatives, including engagement with maritime neighbors. As strategic experts suggest, the Indian Navy’s role will be central to bolstering the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Alfred Thayer Mahan rightly argued about the influence of sea power on history. Even if we have moved from the classical geopolitics of wars to the critical areas of human and resource security, the essential nature of navies as a force to reckon with has only increased with time. In this regard, it is undoubtedly true that the Indian Navy has created a stature for itself.

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