Navigating Troubled Waters: The Anti-Maritime Piracy Act, 2022 and the Red Sea Conflict

By Samridhi Prakash

On 5^th January, 2024, in a daring operation the Indian Navy’s Marcos thwarted hijacking attempt of MV Lila Norfolk by Pirates in the North Arabian Sea. Along with that they rescued 21 seafarers.

The Conflict and the Maritime Geo-political tension:

The incident was a deliberated one, carried out by the Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, which specifically aims at ships that engages in business with Israel. This issue is majorly highlighted in the Arabian Sea – Gulf of Aden region. Here is the image illustrating the Exclusive Economic Zone area and the potential conflict zone, including the route (depicted in black line) which is taken by the Indian shipping companies for trading in the Middle East region along with Israel. It is important to note that due to the geo-political tension between Israel and Iran, the route shown in the map becomes a potential conflict zone for India because of its ties with Israel and its neutrality with Iran. This has given rise to a growing number of such incidences where Maritime infrastructure has been destroyed by such rebels or pirates. However, one of the key highlights of this incident is the growing presence of the Indian Navy Patrolling