The Indian Navy warship INS Sumitra rescued 19 Pakistani sailors from 11 Somali pirates on Monday after the pirates hijacked their fishing vessel off the east coast of Somalia, a Navy spokesman said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred 850 nautical miles west of Kochi in the Arabian Sea. The Indian Navy dispatched INS Sumitra to assist the Iranian vessel immediately after receiving the report.
"This rescue of hijacked vessels through swift, persistent and relentless efforts by the Indian Navy warships deployed in the South Arabian Sea about 850 nm west of Kochi also prevents the misuse of fishing vessels as mother ships for further acts of piracy on merchant vessels," it added.
In another incident on Saturday night, an Indian Navy warship extinguished a massive fire on board a merchant ship that was hit by a missile in the Gulf of Aden. The oil tanker was carrying 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi national.
Since December, maritime tensions have escalated as the Yemeni government led by Anasarallah began targeting Israeli-owned cargo ships in the Red Sea.
The Yemenis stressed that the blockade would continue until Israel ended its assault on the Palestinian Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 24,000 civilians.