An Indian court has sentenced 44 Somali pirates to life imprisonment for crimes committed while hijacking vessels off the coast of the Somalia.
In two different occurrences, pirates had seized a bulk carrier and a fishing ship, taking their crew captive before Indian naval ships freed them and caught the perpetrators in 2024.
During their trial, all 44 Somali defendants have admitted guilt, according to the judgements in both cases handed by a special court in Mumbai on Monday. “The act of piracy on high sea by hijacking a vessel and keeping crew members hostage for ransom by attempting to kill them and to keep them as human shield are very serious things which cannot be taken casually,” judge SB Dige said.
The first hijacking in December 2023 saw 35 Somalis attack the Maltese-flagged bulk freighter MV Ruen. In March 2024, nine others hijacked the Iranian-flagged fishing ship Al Kambar.
The crew, who have been incarcerated in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail since 2024, were present in the court when their life sentences were announced, local media said.
They had petitioned the court to be transported back to Somalia to face judicial proceedings there.
Piracy was common off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s, peaking in 2011 with hundreds of incidents.
International naval deployments and innovative strategies by commercial maritime operators have since greatly decreased the risk.
Since 2008, India’s navy has been stationed off the coast of Somalia. In response to an increase in attacks, particularly those in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the country increased its anti-piracy efforts in 2023.
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