Government has said that saving the lives of Indians held hostage by Somali pirates is its prime concern. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said on Monday in New Delhi, the guiding factor for the government is to protect the lives of every Indian held hostage when it decides on taking appropriate action. He was confident that the government will take the correct decision and immediate action. Mr. Ravi said, the pirates were using people as hostages and trying to bargain for the release of the good number of their people in custody. He said the Indian Navy had gone into action and the Ministries of External Affairs and Home were dealing with the matter.

The Navy has moved one of its frigates towards Somalian waters. The Indian navy is already patrolling the international maritime zone to keep off the pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Navy spokesperson said in New Delhi on Monday that the Talwar class warship is ready to take on the pirates in any situation. He said that the navy would continue its ongoing operation to prevent pirate attacks and said that the release of some of the Indians held hostage has no bearing on the fate of the arrested Somali pirates.

Somalian pirates, who took a multi-million dollar ransom from MT Asphalt Venture, released eight of the 15 Indian crew members last week after holding them hostage for over six months. As per negotiations reportedly held between the shipping company and the pirates, the latter were supposed to release all the Indian crew members on the hijacked ship. But the Somali pirates now want Indian authorities to release all their arrested men in Mumbai before freeing the remaining Indians.

The asphalt and bitumen tanker was hijacked by pirates on its way to South Africa from Kenya, southeast of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on September 28th last year. The owner firm of MT Asphalt Venture has appointed a third-party negotiator to resolve the issue with pirates.

AIR correspondent reports, Indian warships have been escorting merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean as part of international anti-piracy efforts and the Navy and Coast Guard have seized around 120 pirates, mostly Somali nationals, over the past few months. Last month, the Indian navy captured 61 pirates when they attacked a naval ship. Pirates currently hold some 30 ships and more than 600 hostages. According to experts, piracy has become an organised business in Somalia. Several Somalis have invested in it to profit from the ransom amounts. If shipping companies stop paying the ransom, people who have invested in sea piracy stand to lose.