Till recently, pirates were the stuff of books and films. But with 95 attacks on merchant ships, including 35 hijackings, in the Gulf of Aden this year, pirates are back in business. The Gulf of Aden has overtaken Nigeria and the Malacca Strait as the world’s number one pirate hotspot. Nigeria comes second with over 25 incidents, while Malacca Straits have slipped to the third—mostly due to effective patrolling by littoral states—with only 23 incidents.

Following the sharp increase in attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, a major trade route for India, the Indian Navy deployed its warship, the INS Tabar, which sunk a pirate mother vessel last week. More vessels and a reconnaissance aircraft will be deployed soon. For the first time, the navy has also deployed its elite marine commando units onboard all ships that will patrol the waters.

The response was much needed since the Somali pirates don't follow the traditional pirate practice—a quick hit-and-run attack—and instead have started holding ships for ransom.

Pirates’ new formula: Attack and hold

Their initial successes in holding vessels to ransom, say naval officers, have made pirates so bold that they are now attacking bigger merchant vessels. The tactics are simple: a pirate group consists of a ‘mother vessel’ that acts as a floating logistics base and two or more speedboats that take on a merchant ship.

The mother vessel searches the seas for vessels passing by and launches the speed boats—with groups of 8-10 heavily armed bandits—to catch up with the merchant ships. Pirates prefer attacking slower ships such as heavy cargo vessels or tankers.

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