Italian Fleet Commander hails Indian Navy's excellence in Indian Ocean

Goa: Vice Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, commander-in-chief of the Italian Fleet, praised the Indian Navy's performance in the Indian Ocean.

His remarks came as he was addressing the reporters during the press conference on the Italian Carrier Strike Group, the aircraft carrier Cavour.

Carolis sounded the alarm on the rising piracy threat in the Indian Ocean region and attributed this surge to the decrease in commercial flow through the Red Sea. He said, "Piracy picked up some years ago and we must say that up to two years ago, there was a constant decrease in pirate attacks in this specific area (Indian Ocean), although there are other areas in the world where the problem is still significant like the Strait of Malacca."

He added, "We have seen that with the reduction of flow of commerce through the Red Sea, most of the ships have been diverted to the Cape of Good Hope and this in some way might have fuelled again a comeback of piracy in the area and we have seen the Indian Navy... I must say, they are doing an excellent job. At the end of the day, it is called the Indian Ocean, not by chance."

Notably, India and Italy have strengthened their naval ties through regular exchanges, joint exercises, and defence cooperation.

In 2023, Italy joined Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI)'s Science and Technology Pillar, the Italian Navy Ship (ITS Morosini) made a port call in Mumbai in August, 2023. Indian Navy Ship INS Sumedha held Maritime PASSEX Exercise along with ITS Morosini off the coast of Sardinia in April, 2023. Italian Navy also participated in the MILAN 2024 Naval Exercises held off the coast of Vishakapatnam in February, 2024, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.