Indian Navy Repels Pirate Boarding of MV Golden Arsenal in Gulf of Aden

The St. Vincent & Grenadines-flagged bulk carrier Golden Arsenal (21 crew including 1 Indian national), en route from Aden to Somalia roughly 300nm ENE of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden, was boarded by four armed pirates carrying RPGs. The crew locked themselves in the ship's citadel; pirates damaged the bridge but could not breach it. INS Trikand and MARCOS commandos, backed by a P-8I patrol aircraft, responded, the pirates fled, and the vessel was secured and resumed its voyage with no injuries reported. It was the first attempted hijacking since MT Eureka's seizure in early May, with the three previously hijacked vessels (Honour 25, Sward, MT Eureka) still held.