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An Indian special court has sentenced 44 Somali nationals to life imprisonment for their involvement in two separate piracy attacks that saw vessels hijacked off the coast of East Africa and crew members held hostage.
The verdicts were delivered by a special court in Mumbai on Monday, after all 44 defendants admitted guilt during their trial. The men had been accused of attacking a bulk carrier and a fishing vessel before being intercepted and arrested by Indian naval forces in 2024.
Judge SB Dige, while delivering the judgement, described piracy involving hostage-taking and threats to crew members as a serious crime that could not be overlooked.
“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,” Dige said.
The first incident occurred in December 2023, when 35 Somali nationals allegedly seized the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, MV Ruen. The vessel’s crew were held hostage before the Indian Navy intervened and rescued them.
A second attack followed in March 2024, when nine others hijacked the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Al Kambar. The attackers were later arrested by Indian naval personnel and transferred to India for prosecution.
The convicted men, who have been held at Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail since their arrest, were present in court when the sentences were announced, according to local media reports. They had previously requested to be returned to Somalia to face legal proceedings there.
Piracy off Somalia’s coastline reached its peak in 2011, with hundreds of attacks targeting commercial vessels. However, increased international naval patrols, improved security measures on ships, and coordinated anti-piracy operations have significantly reduced attacks in recent years.
India’s navy has maintained an anti-piracy presence in waters near Somalia since 2008 and expanded operations in 2023 following renewed threats in the Arabian Sea and the wider Red Sea region.
