Indian Navy’s Marcos rescue all 15 Indians onboard hijacked MV Lila Norfolk

Indian Naval Warship INS Chennai

Moments after Indian naval warship INS Chennai reached the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk off Somalia coast, Indian Navy’s Marine Commandos (Marcos) present onboard the mission deployed warship boarded the MV. They commenced sanitisation operations immediately and rescued all the Indian onboard the vessel, the Indian Navy said.

“All the crew, including 15 Indians, onboard the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk have been secured and are safe. Indian Navy Marine Commandos are carrying out sanitisation operations in other parts of the vessel,” they said.

#WATCH | Indian Navy’s boat near the hijacked vessel MV Lili Norfolk in the Arabian Sea. Indian Navy commandos secured the hijacked ship and rescued the crew including 15 Indians. The sanitisation operations are still on: Indian Navy officials pic.twitter.com/fJz02HSExV

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2024

Before embarking on the hijacked vessel, the Indian warship had launched its helicopter and issued warning to the Somali pirates to abandon the merchant ship.

“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 said.

The military officials have informed news agency ANI that the Indian crew on board the vessel is safe.

The merchant vessel was hijacked by pirates 300 nautical miles east of Somalia. The ship was en route from Port Du Aco (Brazil) to Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain.

The bulk-carrier MV Lila Norfolk sent a message on the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) portal indicating that five to six unknown armed personnel boarded the vessel on Thursday evening, the Indian Navy said. The UKMTO is a British military organisation that tracks movements of various vessels in strategic waterways.

INS Chennai was diverted from her anti-piracy patrol after receiving information last evening about the hijacked Liberain-flagged vessel with 15 Indian crew on board. "Responding swiftly to the developing situation, the Indian Navy launched a maritime patrol aircraft and has diverted INS Chennai deployed for maritime security operations to assist the vessel," it said in a statement. "The aircraft overflew the vessel early Friday morning and established contact with the vessel, ascertaining the safety of the crew," it said.

It intercepted the MV at 1515hrs on January 5. In the meantime, the MV was kept under continuous surveillance using Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Predator MQ9B and integral helos.

The hijacking comes amid growing concerns over Houthi militants stepping up attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. The fresh incident is among a series of such maritime incidents witnessed in the strategic waters in the last few weeks. Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew members, was the target of a drone attack off India's west coast on December 23.

Besides MV Chem Pluto, another commercial oil tanker that was on the way to India came under a suspected drone strike in the Southern Red Sea on the same day. The vessel had a team of 25 Indian crew. In another incident, Malta-flagged vessel MV Ruen was hijacked on December 14 by pirates.

The Indian Navy on Wednesday said it continues to monitor the maritime security situation in the North and Central Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden. "Indian Naval ships and aircraft remain mission deployed for maintaining enhanced surveillance and undertaking maritime security operations," it said.

"In the last one week, Indian Naval Task Groups deployed in the area have investigated large number of fishing vessels and boarded vessels of interest," it added. The task groups comprised warships, surveillance planes and remotely-piloted aircraft.