Indian Navy doing ‘excellent job’, piracy rising due to Red Sea tensions: Italian Vice Admiral

The Italian Navy’s Carrier Strike Group, consisting of the craft bearer ITS Cavour and the frigate ITS Alpino, docked astatine Berth 9 of Mormugao Port Tuesday for a larboard call. The units of the Italian Navy Fleet, presently engaged successful the archetypal deployment successful the Indo-Pacific region, moored astatine Mormugao from Tuesday to Friday.

“Though determination are different areas successful the satellite wherever the occupation is inactive significant, specified arsenic the Gulf of Guinea and Strait of Malacca. What we are seeing successful the Somali basin successful peculiar is that with the simplification of travel of commerce done the Red Sea owing to the menace of Houthis successful the area, astir ships person been diverted to the way disconnected the Cape of Good Hope…and this, successful immoderate way, mightiness person fuelled again a comeback of piracy successful the area,” helium said.

According to Vice Admiral Carolis, the main absorption of the Italian Navy is successful the Mediterranean.

“We are rather engaged there. As a fleet commander, I person an mean of 40 naval vessels including submarines operating successful the Mediterranean, and besides outside. In the Red Sea, determination is an ongoing situation and shipping is threatened. All the commerce that flows done the Red Sea gets into the Mediterranean. So, we are committed to undertake maritime information operations to guarantee a harmless transit, for not conscionable Italian-flagged ships, but for each units that are connected with EU [European Union] countries,” helium said.

According to Carolis, the Indian Navy is “doing an fantabulous job” erstwhile it comes to anti-piracy operations.

“At the extremity of the day, it’s called the Indian Ocean…not by chance,” helium said, adding that the European Union (EU) remains committed to warring piracy done associated naval and maritime practice exercises.

Rear Admiral Giancarlo Ciappina, the Italian Navy Carrier Strike Group Commander, said the Italian Navy and the Indian Navy volition prosecute successful bilateral maritime exercises connected October 5 and October 6 disconnected India’s occidental seashore with the purpose to physique interoperability.

The two-day exercises volition absorption connected aerial defence, maritime manoeuvres and associated operations betwixt the aerial arms of the 2 navies.

“We person been receiving immoderate taxable substance experts from the Indian Navy and person been hosting them onboard Cavour. We person been exchanging accusation and readying immoderate activities to bash astatine oversea connected October 5 and October 6. It volition impact 2 carriers and integration of aerial wings, immoderate exercises successful aerial defence and immoderate manoeuvring astatine sea. We volition person an speech of unit connected our ships to recognize each other’s ways of formation and naval operations,” Ciappina said.