The Indian Navy is closely monitoring a hijacked cargo ship 'MV Lila Norfolk' near Somalia's coast. The alert about the hijacking was received on Thursday evening. There are 15 Indian crew members onboard the Liberia-flagged vessel, reported news agency ANI. Indian Navy aircraft have been keeping a watch on the ship. Communication has been established with the crew, military officials were quoted as saying by ANI.
According to Marine Traffic, the ship was headed from Brazil's Porto du Acu to Khalifa bin Salman Port in Bahrain and was expected to dock on January 11. The last regular communication from the ship was received on December 30, according to Vessel Finder.
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According to the latest updates available, Indian Navy warship INS Chennai is moving towards the hijacked vessel to tackle the situation.
In the wake of increased incidents of hijacking of merchant/ cargo ships, India has been continuously monitoring the situation in the region — specifically in the Gulf of Aden and the North Arabian Sea — over the past few days. Hence, INS Chennai, which was in the region, was deployed to respond to the situation.
The Indian Navy in a statement has said that it "responded swiftly to a maritime incident in Arabian Sea involving a hijacking attempt onboard a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier". "The vessel had sent a message on UKMTO portal indicating boarding by approx five to six unknown armed personnel in the evening on 04 Jan 24," the statement read.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or the UKMTO, has advised ships in the vicinity to exercise caution and "report any suspicious activity.
Last month, the Indian Navy swiftly responded to a distress call from Malta-flagged MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea.