Indian Navy commandos have intercepted a hijacked Liberian-flagged vessel in the Arabian Sea on Friday. This was according to the Navy who said that they are now carrying out “sanitisation” operations.
An Indian Navy warship seized the MV Lila Norfolk on Friday afternoon, less than a day after the navy got news that it had been commandeered off Somalia’s coast, in the North Arabian Sea.
In its latest update on the incident, the UK Maritime Trade Operations– UKMTO agency stated that no unlicensed persons were found on board the vessel by military forces. It was also reported that all crew are safe and accounted for.
About 15 Indian crew members were on board the vessel, which was hijacked close to Somalia’s coast and the navy received information about it on Thursday evening.
The warship INS Chennai was rerouted and called on to assist the vessel, according to the navy. It was also reported that earlier in the day, a naval aircraft flew over the hijacked vessel on Friday and had initiated contact with it.
The Indian navy has intensified its surveillance of the Arabian Sea after a recent outbreak of attacks in the region.
The Navy had also said that it had begun investigating a large number of fishing vessel and boarded vessels of interest in the region, earlier this week.
India is not a part of the U.S.-led Red Sea task force.
