Indian Navy helped providing security cover to MV Suez: Govt

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Government on Friday said that
the Indian Navy had "coordinated" with other navies operating
in the piracy-affected region for providing security cover to
MV Suez, the Egyptian merchant vessel, with six Indian
nationals, released by Somali pirates four days ago.
"The Navy coordinated with other navies in the region so
that security cover could be provided to MV Suez, the ship
which was released by pirates recently and which has crew
comprising, among others, of Indian and Pakistani nationals,"
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said.
He said that one of the naval warships INS Godavari had
"also closed on MV Suez and monitored her progress" towards
the Salalah port in Oman.
The ship is presently being escorted towards Oman by
warships of Coalition Task Force including Pakistani ship PNS
Babar.
The Navy had deployed INS Godavari to escort MV Suez to
Salalah but after the merchant vessel, under a Pakistani
captain, refused to respond to the communication calls by the
warship, the Indian Navy pulled it out of the escort duties.
The warship is now escorting two other merchant vessels
with 21 Indians in the Gulf of Aden.
The Navy is continuously assessing the situation and
monitoring all developments.
MV Suez, with 22 crew members, including six Indian
nationals, was released three days back by the Somali pirates
after 10 months in captivity.