PM Modi hails Navy's heroic operation in rescuing sailors of merchant ship

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed as "heroic" the successful conduct of an operation by the Indian Navy to free a merchant ship from the clutches of pirates in the North Arabian Sea.

Addressing the 58th conference of the DGPs and the IGPs here, Modi also referred to the success of India's first solar mission craft Aditya L1 and said it is a testament to the power of India and the prowess of Indian scientists.

"Two days ago, the Indian Navy completed a very successful heroic operation. When it got the message that a merchant ship was in distress, the Indian Navy and the marine commandos got active," he said.

The prime minister said there were 21 sailors in the ship of which 15 were Indians. The ship was about 2,000 km away from the Indian coast.

He said the Navy rescued all the sailors from danger.

"The Indian sailors (after they were rescued) were hailing the bravery of the commandos and raising the slogan of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," he said.

On January 5, the Indian Navy's elite marine commandos rescued all 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier after boarding it from a warship in a swift operation in the North Arabian Sea that followed after around five to six armed pirates attempted to hijack the Liberian-flagged vessel.

On the Aditya L1 mission, Modi said the spacecraft reached its destination, the L1 point, about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth from where it will study the Sun's wonders, uninterrupted by eclipses and occultations.

"This is the spot from where Aditya L1 will be in clear view of the Sun. This is going to greatly help in scientific research like our moon mission," he said.

The prime minister said the success of the Aditya L1 is a testament to India's power and prowess of Indian scientists. It is another great example," he said.

In yet another landmark for its space programme, India's first solar mission craft Aditya L1 on January 6 reached its destination from where it will orbit the Sun and study our star's wonders, uninterrupted by eclipses and occultations.

The ISRO's latest feat came months after the success of Chandrayaan-3 where the space agency achieved the challenging soft landing of the craft on the lunar surface.