A maritime crisis unfolded as the cargo ship ‘MV Lila Norfolk’, with 15 Indian crew members aboard, was hijacked last Thursday evening near Somalia’s coast. In response to this emergency, the Indian Navy deployed a maritime patrol aircraft and the destroyer INS Chennai to the scene, which was on Maritime Security Operations, according to military officials on Friday.
The Navy received an alert through the UKMTO portal on Thursday evening, indicating that approximately 5-6 armed personnel had boarded the vessel.
In a swift action early Friday morning, the Indian Navy’s aircraft managed to overfly the hijacked ship and establish contact, successfully verifying the crew’s safety. The aircraft continues its surveillance, closely monitoring the vessel’s movements.
Commander Mehul Karnik, a navy spokesperson, said the crew members said they were in their strong room and were operating the vessel from there.
Source : times of India
