Three Indian vessels, two Navy and one Coast Guard sank a pirate mothership, killing some of the pirates, taking 15 prisoner, and freeing 20 hostages after a 12 hour “battle” here and here. The Indian Navy vessels were Car Nicobar class fast attack craft, about the size of the Webber class Fast Response Cutter, a bit faster, with much larger crews. Reportedly they have eleven machine guns on board. That may include the 30 mm main armament. The Coast Guard Ship, CGS Sankalp, sounds a lot like an OPC, 2,300 tons, helicopter deck and hanger, 25 knots and a crew of 106. Interestingly all three vessels were relatively new. All were delivered in the last three years.

As a reminder that things don’t always go well when intervention is attempted. In this incident a crewman was killed when a Seychelles boat opened fire the pirates and crew members attempted to retake the vessel. This vessel is still in pirate hands and has a cargo of boats that the pirates may put to use.

Fox, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Fifth Fleet calls for the use of a counter-terror approach to piracy.

Meanwhile the European Union Naval Commander is reporting a disturbing trend, that the pirates have begun to employ systematic torture of their hostages.

Its not my idea, I could not find where I saw it, but since there are fewer “pirate action groups” than there are warships trying to counter their activities, wouldn’t it make sense, instead of patrolling geographic areas (a zone defense) to go to one-on-one and assign a tattle-tail to each of the mother-ships?

Pirates are currently holding 31 ships and more than 700 sailors hostage