Indian Navy Frees Hijacked Fishing Vessel Azini Off Somalia

The Indian Navy has brought a hijacking off the Somali coast to a close, taking the fishing vessel Azini back from an armed pirate group and getting every one of its 20 crew members off the boat alive. The Ministry of Defence announced the outcome on 3 November 2026.

How the operation unfolded

Azini was seized last month by armed pirates near the north-eastern shoulder of Somalia. A captured fishing boat is dangerous well beyond its own deck: pirates use such a boat as a floating base, a so-called mother ship, and push out from it to strike at merchant traffic further offshore. Shutting that possibility down mattered as much as the rescue itself.

The Navy sent a mission-deployed warship towards the boat and put a maritime reconnaissance aircraft in the air above it. Patient surveillance found Azini, and the two platforms then stayed with it, following every movement. Instead of opening fire, the Navy used calibrated non-kinetic measures to box the boat in and close off any route of escape, which kept the crew out of the line of risk.

Marine Commandos were then added to the force at sea. They reached it through a precision airdrop flown by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft, which is what makes this a two-service mission rather than a purely naval one. The commandos took the boat, overcame the pirate threat and secured the vessel. The whole effort ran beyond 48 hours and closed with no casualties and no injuries on either count.

Why it matters

The Ministry of Defence read the result as evidence of how ready the Navy is to operate and of its ability to run a complicated maritime security task with the services working smoothly together. India describes its own role in the Indian Ocean Region in two set phrases, First Responder and Preferred Security Partner, and the Azini mission was tied to that standing. Guarding seafarers, keeping vital trade routes open and holding the regional maritime environment safe and stable remain the force's stated priorities.