A team of Indian Navy’s elite Marine commandos have embarked on the hijacked Liberian ship MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea for ‘sanitisation’ operations, the Indian Navy said on Friday.
“The Indian Navy Marine Commandos present onboard the Mission Deployed warship boarded the MV and have commenced the sanitisation,” the statement by the Indian Navy read.
In its statement, the Navy said INS Chennai intercepted the vessel on January 5 after being diverted from her anti-piracy patrol.
“MV was kept under continuous surveillance using Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Predator MQ9B and integral helos,” it added.
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 indicating boarding by approximately five to six unknown armed personnel on Thursday evening, the Indian Navy said in an official statement on Friday.
The hijacked ship has 15 Indians on board and communication has been established with the crew.
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 vessel.