Indian Navy Successfully Rescues All 21 Crew From Hijacked Ship Near Somalia; Details here
The Indian Navy has done a commendable job by rescuing all 21 personnel from a hijacked ship near Somalia. We are still waiting for the details of this operation. This victorious rescue operation demonstrates the expert prowess of the Indian Navy in handling these cases and providing security to its people.
New Delhi: In a riveting series of events at sea, the Indian Navy carried out an outstanding rescue mission, rescuing all 21 crew members on board a hijacked ship, MV Lila Norfolk, near the coast of Somalia. This group consisted of 15 Indians. The Navy responded to the distress signal in record time and managed to get the crew safely out of the onboard safety locker. A thorough investigation conducted by the elite commando force, the MARCOs, confirmed that the ship had been freed from hijackers, according to a report by ANI.
The hijacking attempt by the pirates was probably halted after the strong warning from the Indian Navy, MPA, of interception by an Indian Navy warship, the statement said. INS Chennai is located in the vicinity of MV and is providing support to restore power generation and propulsion and begin its journey to the next port of call.
The Elite Marine Commandos of the Indian Navy are conducting remediation operations
The Indian Navy’s elite Naval Commandos are still carrying out clean-up operations in other parts of the ship, military officials told news agency ANI. According to officials, MARCOS did not find any pirates on the hijacked ship. The rescued crew said the pirates shot at the ship during the hijacking attempt, after which they all hid in the citadel.
INS Chennai deviated from its anti-piracy patrol and intercepted the MV at 3.15 pm on Friday.
“MV was kept under constant surveillance using maritime patrol aircraft, Predator MQ9B and integral helos. The Indian Navy Naval Commandos present on board the Mission Deployed warship boarded the MV and commenced remediation,” the Indian Navy’s earlier statement said.
Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar of the Indian Navy
In another development, Indian Navy Admiral R. Hari Kumar issued directives to Indian warships operating in the Arabian Sea to take the “strongest possible action” against the pirates, defense officials said.
Earlier, Indian warship INS Chennai reached the hijacked ship MV Lila Norfolk off the coast of Somalia and warned the pirates on board to abandon ship. Earlier, officials said merchant ship MV Lila Norfolk was hijacked by pirates 300 nautical miles east of Somalia while sailing from Port Du Aco in Brazil en route to Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain.
The Indian Navy’s Mission Deployed Platforms responded swiftly to the hijacking attempt on board a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier after it received a message on the UKMTO portal on Thursday evening indicating that approximately five to six unknown armed personnel had boarded the ship, the Indian Navy said in a statement. .
In response to the situation, the Indian Navy launched a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and diverted INS Chennai, deployed for maritime security operations, to assist the ship.
(With input from agencies)