NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy successfully evacuated all 21 crew members, including 15 Indian nationals, from the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk off the coast of Somalia on Friday following a high-stakes drama at sea. “The Indian Navy Reacted Quickly to the MV Lila Norfolk’s Hijacking Attempt in the North Arabian Sea.” The 21 crew members—including the 15 Indians—safely left the citadel. The hijackers’ absence has been verified by MARCO sanitation, the Indian Navy said in a statement. The statement stated that the pirates’ attempt at hijacking was likely abandoned after receiving a strong warning from the Indian Navy, MPA, about possible interception by Indian Naval warships. While the MV is in the area, INS Chennai is providing assistance to restart the power generation and propulsion so that the ship can move on to her next port of call. The elite Marine Commandos of the Indian Navy are still sanitising other areas of the ship, military officials told ANI. Officials say that MARCOS did not find any pirates on the stolen ship. The crew that was saved has reported that during the attempted hijack, the pirates opened fire on the ship, and they all took refuge in the citadel. Friday at 3:15 p.m., INS Chennai deviated from her Anti-Piracy patrol and intercepted the MV. “The MV was continuously monitored with the help of Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Predator MQ9B, and integral helos.” The earlier statement from the Indian Navy said that the Marine Commandos of the Indian Navy, who were present on board the Mission Deployed warship, boarded the MV and started the Sanitization process. Defence officials said that in a separate development, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar ordered Indian warships operating in the Arabian Sea to take “strictest possible action” against the pirates. Earlier, the Indian naval warship INS Chennai approached the pirate-occupied ship MV Lila Norfolk off the coast of Somalia and ordered the pirates to leave the ship. The authorities had earlier disclosed that the merchant vessel MV Lila Norfolk, which was sailing from Port Du Aco in Brazil to Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain, had been taken over by pirates 300 nautical miles east of Somalia. Following notification of a message on the UKMTO portal indicating boarding by five to six unknown armed personnel on Thursday evening, the Indian Navy’s Mission Deployed Platforms reacted quickly to the attempted hijacking on board a bulk carrier flying the Liberian flag, the Indian Navy said in a statement. The Indian Navy responded to the situation by diverting INS Chennai, which was stationed for maritime security operations, to assist the vessel, and launching a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA).
