Indian Navy Commandos Airdropped by C-17 Free Hijacked Fishing Vessel Azini Off Somalia
Indian Navy marine commandos, parachuted into the sea from an Indian Air Force C-17, have retaken the Iranian fishing vessel Azini from Somali pirates and freed all 20 crew members with no casualties or injuries, India’s Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday 3 November 2026. The operation ended on Monday evening after more than 48 hours in the Arabian Sea, over 3,000 km from Mumbai, according to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The Navy said the hijacked dhow could have been used as a “mother ship” to launch further attacks on merchant shipping, the tactic that now defines the renewed piracy threat off Somalia.
What happened
The Azini was seized by an armed pirate group off Somalia’s north-eastern coast late last month; India-based DefenceWatch puts the date at 29 October. The Indian Navy said it tasked a mission-deployed warship, later named in Indian media as the destroyer INS Kolkata, supported by a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft and an MQ-9B Sea Guardian drone.
According to the official statement, the platforms found the vessel “after persistent surveillance”, tracked it and used “calibrated non-kinetic measures to contain its movement and prevent its escape”. Marine Commandos (MARCOS) were then delivered by a precision airdrop from an IAF C-17 Globemaster III. They boarded and secured the vessel and released the 20 crew. Iran’s embassy in New Delhi publicly thanked the Indian Navy and Air Force.
The fate of the pirates is less clear from the Indian side. The Associated Press quoted an official of the Puntland Maritime Police Force, speaking anonymously, as saying Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates, took their mobile phones and released them. India’s statement does not mention arrests or prosecution.
A familiar playbook
The Azini rescue repeats the method India used in March 2024, when INS Kolkata, with MARCOS dropped from a C-17, forced the surrender of the pirates holding the bulk carrier MV Ruen, which had itself been used as a mother ship; those suspects were taken to Mumbai for trial. Long-range airdrop gives the Navy a way to put a boarding force over a target far from any Indian base within hours, while the warship and P-8I keep it pinned.
Somali groups now favour seizing dhows and fishing boats, which carry crews and fuel and can stay at sea for weeks, rather than launching skiffs from the beach. Researchers at a maritime security forum in Accra in October warned that pirate action groups active in 2026 are more violent and better organised than in the 2005-2012 wave, and that naval coverage has thinned (our report).
What it means for the region
Puntland’s maritime police and Somalia’s federal authorities have limited means to patrol the north-east coast, so outside navies continue to do most of the at-sea response. Regional states have discussed a combined anti-piracy force under the Djibouti Code of Conduct (background), and Türkiye keeps a naval task group off Somalia (recent report). Releasing suspects at sea, if the Puntland account is correct, also shows a familiar gap: navies can free ships, but few states want to take on prosecutions.
For African navies, the operation is a reminder that long-range patrol aircraft and drones did the hardest part of the job: finding one small vessel in a large ocean. Most coastal states in the region still lack that capability; see our guide to offshore patrol vessels in African navies.
Sources
- Press Information Bureau, Government of India: Indian Navy successfully rescues hijacked fishing vessel ‘Azini’ off the coast of Somalia, 3 November 2026
- Associated Press, 3 November 2026 (Puntland Maritime Police Force official on the 12 suspects)
- ThePrint and DefenceWatch (INS Kolkata, P-8I and Sea Guardian, hijack date)
- The Indian Express, 3 November 2026
