MARCOS Make History: Indian Navy Conducts First-Ever Paradrop At Sea, Rescues 17 Civilians, Captures 35 Pirates

Indian Navy’s highly secretive Marine Commandos (MARCOS) yesterday (16 March) conducted their first-ever para-drop operation at sea.

In the successful para-drop, the MARCOS took the surrender of 35 Somali pirates and rescued 17 civilians from the merchant ship, MV Ruen.

The Maltese-flagged vessel, MV Ruen, was hijacked on 14 December 2023, and was being used as a pirate ship to conduct acts of piracy in the high seas, according to a statement by the Indian Navy.

The pirate ship was intercepted on Friday (15 March) by the navy’s destroyer, INS Kolkata, approximately 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km) from the Indian coast.

The entire operation lasted close to 40 hours, culminating in the surrender of 35 pirates following a paradrop of MARCOS from an Indian Air Force’s (IAF) C-17 Globemaster-III transport aircraft.

A high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, most likely the MQ-9 Sea Guardian leased from the US, was used to maintain uninterrupted aerial surveillance of the hijacked ship, apart from the Boeing P-8I Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft and a Sukanya-class patrol vessel, INS Subhadra, which also took part in the operation.

INS Kolkata had been following the hijacked ship since the interception, which reportedly also opened fire at the Kolkata-class destroyer.

Just two months ago, in January, MARCOS prevented another hijacking attempt at a Liberian-flagged merchant vessel, MV Lila Norfolk.

Six Somali pirates attempted to board the Lila Norfolk, but a quick operation by the MARCOS thwarted the attempt, saving all 21 crew members.

Established in 1987, the MARCOS are the navy’s special forces operators, akin to the Special Forces (Para SF) of the Indian Army and Garud commandos of the IAF. They are trained to conduct specialised warfare at sea, including combat diving, search and rescue, underwater demolition, visit, board, search and seizure and reconnaissance operations.

However, their capabilities are not just limited to warfare at sea — they can also conduct operations in the remaining two domains, from land and air as well.

Just months after their creation, the MARCOS took part in Operation Pawan, where they helped capture the harbour of Trincomalee and Jaffna.

They also participated in Operation Cactus, where they helped defend Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from a coup.

The MARCOS are also engaged in Counterinsurgency Operations in Jammu and Kashmir, where they are deployed along Wular Lake and the Jhelum River.