Indian Navy commandos reached the hijacked ship
Indian Navy warship INS Chennai has reached the hijacked ship MV Leela Norfolk off the Somalia coast. Indian Navy has issued a warning to pirates to leave the hijacked ship.
Military officials have said that the Indian crew on board the ship is safe and the Marine Commandos are ready for MARCOS operation.
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Five to six unidentified armed people boarded the ship
A Navy spokesperson said the Indian Navy responded swiftly to the maritime incident in the Arabian Sea, in which an attempt was made to hijack a Liberian-flagged ship. He said that the ship has sent a message on the UKMTO portal, which said that about five to six unidentified armed people have boarded the ship.
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As soon as the message was received from the ship, immediate action was taken. An Indian Navy official said that the Navy’s maritime patrol aircraft flew over the ship and contact was established with the ship, ensuring the safety of the crew.
The hijacking of cargo ship MV Leela Norfolk was reported on Thursday by UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British military organisation. It monitors the movements of various ships in strategic waterways.
Last month, the Navy had deployed several warships in the sea following recent attacks on boats in the sea. This also included a drone attack off the coast of India, for which the United States blamed Iran.
Many ships were diverted from the Red Sea
The latest attack comes at a time when many ships have been diverted through the Red Sea. Here, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out drone and missile attacks in Gaza in solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza.
Last month, a drone strike hit the tanker MV Chem Pluto 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the Indian coast.
