New Delhi, Nov. 21: The navy wants Indian merchant vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden to form convoys so that they may be escorted through the piracy-threatened waters off Somalia, a senior navy source said today.

Naval headquarters has asked the director-general (shipping) to give details of Indian vessels taking the route to the Suez Canal, a day after the Indian Navy was told it might go into Somali territorial waters to counter pirates. But the navy does not want to trample on delicate diplomatic toes by exhibiting its OOA (out of area operations) capability.

A bulk of India’s trade with the US and Europe transits the region.

A Delhi-class destroyer, one of the largest ships in the Indian naval fleet, would be sent to the Gulf of Aden for “convoying” operations through a corridor covering 480 nautical miles by 30 nautical miles (877.5 X 54.5sqkm approximately). India does not have secure bases in the region where it could berth its warships or aircraft. But it has begun talks with countries that may replenish and give “turnaround” facilities to its warships.

The navy was told it might act under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1838 that gives it a mandate under Chapter VII (peace-enforcement) of the UN charter. Indian government sources said New Delhi favoured a collaborative peace-enforcement mission.

Nato and the European Union already have, or are in the process of deploying, patrols in the Gulf of Aden but these arrangements are not under the UN flag. Indian government sources said Nato had been pointing out that the UN had little experience in the kind of measures required for anti-piracy operations.

India is also in touch with Russia, France and Japan and states in the Gulf.

An Indian Navy source described the initial outcome of talks with defence attaches based in New Delhi as “good”. Earlier this year, the navy hosted the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, a gathering of the chiefs of navies of the Indian Ocean region. Naval headquarters is trying to leverage the relationships built through that meet to explore if it can generate a larger response in anti-piracy patrols.

The move comes after the Indian Navy’s action in sinking a pirate vessel but more so because the threat to merchant shipping has magnified after sea bandits’ boarding of a Saudi supertanker. Shipping companies have begun re-routing their vessels from the Horn of Africa, where the piracy runs highest, right to the Cape of Good Hope, or are taking extra security measures.

The Saudi supertanker, MV Sirius Star, is now reported to be anchored by Somali pirates off that country’s east coast town of Xarardheere.

The supertanker was carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude for the US and has a crew of 25. The ship itself is estimated to cost about $100 million. Western media reports have said that the pirates are demanding a ransom of $25 million for its release.