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All 21 crew members, including 15 Indians, aboard the ship MV Lila Norfolk, which was hijacked on Thursday, 4 January near the Somalia coast, have been rescued, officials said on Friday, 5 January.
The MARCOS elite commandos "sanitised" the ship and rescued the 15 Indian crew members. In a statement, the commandos confirmed the absence of hijackers on board.
"MARCOS have not found any pirates on the hijacked vessel. The rescued crew has informed that the pirates had fired at the ship during hijack attempt after which they all hid themselves in the citadel," Indian Navy officials said.
This comes after the Indian Navy launched a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and diverted INS Chennai to assist Liberia-flagged bulk carrier after a hijacking attempt, and Indian Navy’s Marine Commandos (Marcos) subsequently boarded the carrier to commence "sanitisation operations" on Friday, 5 December.
INS Chennai had launched its helicopter and issued a warning to the pirates to abandon the ship before embarking the vessel.
“Indian Navy’s elite Marine Commandos from the warship INS Chennai have embarked on the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk and are now going to carry out sanitisation operations there,” military officers quoted by Moneycontrol had said.
According to news agency ANI, the Indian crew onboard the ship en route from Port Du Aco in Brazil to Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain, were safe.
"The vessel had sent a message on UKMTO portal indicating boarding by approximately five to six unknown armed personnel in the evening on 04 January 2024," the Navy had said in a statement.
"The aircraft overflew the vessel on early morning of 05 Jan 24 and established contact with the vessel, ascertaining the Safety of the crew," the statement added.
INS Chennai altered its course from its anti-piracy mission after receiving information and the Indian Navy promptly responded by deploying a maritime patrol aircraft to assist the vessel.
According to ANI, continuous surveillance was maintained using Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Predator MQ9B, and integrated helicopters.
The incident of adds to a series of maritime events in strategic waters, raising concerns particularly in light of Houthi militants increasing attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. A similar event involved the Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, targeted in a drone attack off India's west coast on 23 December, with 21 Indian crew members on board.
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