Indian Navy Commandos Rescue 21 Crew Members & Prevent Ship Hijack Attempt In Arabian Sea

Indian Navy Commandos saved crew members of a Liberian-flagged merchant ship after pirates attempted to hijack the vessel in the Arabian Sea.

Video Credits: Hindustan Times

All 21 crew members, of which 15 are Indian, were successfully rescued from the ship MV Lila Norfolk. However, no pirates could be found on the vessel.

Sanitation operations were carried out by the Navy onboard the ship less than a day after they got a hijacking distress call from the vessel’s location off the coast of Somalia in the North Arabian Sea.

The ship was on its way to Khalifa bin Salman, Bahrain, and it was unclear what it was carrying. A message was sent on the UK Maritime Trade Operations Portal, which said that 5-6 unknown armed individuals had boarded the ship on Thursday evening.

The Navy said the hijacking attempt was abandoned once the Indian Navy sent warnings, patrol aircraft and its warship INS Chennai, which was diverted and sent to help the distressed ship. A naval aircraft was also deployed, which formed contact with the merchant ship.

Indian Navy reaffirmed its commitment to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the area with the support of its international allies. It has increased surveillance in the Arabian Sea after a recent rise of such attacks and hijack attempts.

Data and records from the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region show there were three hijackings in December. However, previous such incidents were reported in 2017.

Abhijit Singh, head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, said that a sudden rise in these incidents could be due to the pirates’ willingness to benefit from the fact that the focus of anti-piracy operations has shifted to the Red Sea.

Indian Navy is on alert, and this week, it boarded and investigated many fishing vessels in the Arabian Sea.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India would be a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region and ensure the safety of maritime trade.

References: Al Jazeera, DW

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