A special court in Mumbai has sentenced 44 Somali nationals to life imprisonment for hijacking two vessels off Somalia's coast and taking their crews hostage, in verdicts delivered on Monday.
The rulings mark India's first convictions under its Maritime Anti-Piracy Act of 2022, closing a case that began with dramatic naval rescues in 2024.
The sentencing carries significance beyond the courtroom. It signals India's growing resolve to prosecute maritime crime under its own laws rather than repatriate suspects, at a time when piracy has resurfaced off East Africa after nearly a decade of relative calm, and as global shipping lanes near the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden face renewed security threats.
The case stemmed from two separate incidents. In December 2023, 35 pirates hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier MV Ruen, the first successful boarding of a cargo vessel by Somali pirates since 2017.
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Indian commandos boarded the vessel some 260 nautical miles off Somalia's coast in a 40-hour operation, parachuting from a military C-17 aircraft to corner and coerce the pirates into surrendering.
In March 2024, nine other men hijacked the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Al-Kambar 786. Indian naval ships Trishul and Sumedha, deployed in the Gulf of Aden on an anti-piracy mission, responded to a hijacking alert and arrested the nine Somali nationals. Prosecutors said the pirates held the crew hostage for about three days for ransom and threatened them with weapons including AK-47 rifles and hand grenades.
Delivering the verdict, Special Judge S B Dige said the acts of piracy were serious offences involving hostage-taking and human shields that "cannot be taken casually." Judge Dige described the crimes as extremely grave, saying hijacking ships, taking crew members hostage for ransom, attempting to kill them, and using them as human shields deserved the strictest punishment.
All 44 defendants pleaded guilty during the trial. Despite advice from a lawyer linked to the Somali embassy not to plead guilty, the accused proceeded voluntarily, citing hardships in prison. Defence submissions noted the men had rejected embassy-appointed counsel, saying they had no faith in that representation.
The convicted men, held at Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai since their arrest, were present in court for the verdict. They had asked to be sent back to Somalia to face trial there, but the request was denied.
India's navy has patrolled waters off Somalia since 2008 and intensified anti-piracy operations in 2023 following a spike in attacks across the Arabian Sea and Red Sea corridor.
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