The 'On the Spot Unit Citation' was presented to the Indian Navy Ship Sharda by Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, during his visit to the Southern Naval Command in Kochi. This was in recognition of the ship's successful piracy operations. With the assistance of the ship, all 19 crew members of the Iranian fishing vessel Omari, which had been taken hostage by pirates off the east coast of Somalia, were successfully freed. Eleven of the crew members were Iranian, and eight were Pakistani.

Anti Piracy Operation by INS Sharda

The ship was tasked to investigate the Iranian fishing vessel Omari that was likely hijacked by pirates. Based on surveillance inputs of naval RPA, the ship intercepted the vessel and maintained a covert trail throughout the night. During early morning hours of 02 Feb 24, the ship's integral helo and subsequently Prahar team was launched. The aggressive posture of ship coerced the pirates to safely release the crew and boat. The swift and decisive actions of the ship resulted in rescue of hijacked fishing vessel and its crew from Somali pirates. The relentless effort of the ship, mission deployed for anti-piracy operations saved precious lives at sea upholding Indian Navy's resolve to enhancing security and safety of seafarers in the Indian Ocean Region.

The CNS interacted with Team Sharda and commended them for responding to piracy attack with alacrity leading to safe and successful conduct of operations at sea under challenging conditions. During his address, he complimented the professional approach of crew which resulted in recognition and acclaim of Indian Navy as the preferred security partner in the region.