The Indian Navy has sent another warship to Seychelles after reports that Somali pirates are shifting their base near the island chain due to increased international patrolling in the Gulf of Aden.

With over eight attacks reported in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Seychelles in just the first four days of this month, there is concern that heavily armed pirates who are finding it difficult to operate off the Somali coast are targeting sea traffic near the relatively unguarded island nation.

While India first deployed a warship, the Nirdeshak, after an urgent request by the country two weeks ago, it has now sent another vessel to the region due to the escalation in attacks. The Navy already has a large warship operating on anti-piracy duties in the Gulf of Aden.

Sources said the new warship being sent to Seychelles will replace the Nirdeshak, which is actually a hydrographic survey vessel. The Nirdeshak will also stay nearby but is expected to return to its primary duty of carrying out hydrographic surveys.

In addition, the SCG Topaz, the main patrol vessel of the Seychelles Coast Guard, which was undergoing an extensive refit in India, has also been dispatched back to the island nation. The Topaz, a fast attack craft that was being refurnished at a cost of over $ 4 million at Visakhapatnam, will reach Seychelles by Friday and is expected to immediately take on anti-piracy duty.

The absence of the Topaz, which was gifted to the island nation by India in 2005, was one of the key reasons behind Seychelles’s urgent request for assistance to New Delhi last month after a spate of attacks.

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