The government is contemplating framing a new legislation to tackle piracy in view of increasing incidents of Indian ships being hijacked on high seas. Shipping Minister G K Vasan told PTI that in 2010, 12 Indian mechanised sailing vessels, commonly known as ‘dhows’, with 174 Indian nationals were hijacked. Vasan said a slew of measures have been initiated to contain the menace including deployment of one additional Indian Naval ship in the area to escort Indian ships. One Naval ship is already deployed since 2008. Besides, around 22 Naval vessels of different countries are reported to have been deployed in the region to protect the trade routes.

He said, the Indian delegations to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) have expressed serious concern over the piracy incidents and have urged the need for the UN to lead the initiative to mitigate piracy. IMO is a UN body to ensure safety and security of ships in international waters.

Vasan’s observation comes against the backdrop of capturing of 14 Indians along with their Gujarat-registered dhow by Somali pirates off the Oman coast on January 9.