In the first-ever action after being deployed in the Gulf of Aden, Navy on Tuesday thwarted an attempt by pirates to capture an Indian merchant vessel in the region.

The ship, M V Jag Arnav, has recently crossed the Suez Canal and was eastward bound when it was surrounded by pirates, who tried to board and hijack the ship, Navy sources said in New Delhi.

When the 38,265-tonne bulk carrier, owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, raised an alarm, it caught the attention of the Indian Naval warship, INS Tabar, which was patrolling in the Gulf of Aden waters.

The Navy warship rushed its commandos on an armed helicopter to intervene and they successfully repulsed the pirates attacking the commercial carrier, sources added.

"An armed helicopter with marine commandos was launched from the naval warship to intervene and prevent the pirates from boarding and hijacking the merchant vessel. This timely and successful intervention led to the pirates aborting their attempt," sources said.

The attack took place around 10.30 hours about 60 nautical miles of Aden, when the pirates came on speed boats armed with automatic weapons, they said.

Later, INS Tabar, which was about 25 nautical miles away from the place of pirate attack, closed in on the merchant vessel and escorted it to safety.

In the wake of several incidents of merchant vessels coming under attack from pirates, India has on October 23 decided to deploy her warship in the Gulf of Aden on patrol duties with a mandate to intervene if any Indian vessel was in distress.

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