Article Posted on : - Oct 27, 2009

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NEW DELHI (PTI): With spurt in incidents of piracy, Indian Navy has deployed two warships off the coast of Seychelles and Mauritius to carry out patrols to counter threat from Somali pirates there.

"INS Shardul, an amphibious warship and Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna, an offshore patrol vessel, had gone to Seychelles and Mauritius for training purposes but we have asked the ships to remain in the area for a longer duration to carry out surveillance and anti-piracy patrols," Navy officials said here.

The two ships will be in addition to the Talwar Class guided missile frigate deployed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy patrols.

India started deploying its warships for anti-piracy operations in October last year and since then, they have been escorting Indian ships safely through the pirate-affected areas. They have also carried out actions against pirate mother ships.

Indian ships have also been coordinating informally with warships of other countries and groupings for securing the ships from pirates.