The Indian Navy vessel INS Chennai has arrived off the coast of Somalia in order to free a ship flying the flag of Liberia that was taken over by pirates. According to recent reports, the Navy’s Marine Commandos, or Marcos, have boarded the stolen cargo ship and cleaned the upper deck, the service announced in a statement.
There are 15 Indian people aboard the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk.
“MV was kept under continuous surveillance using Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Predator MQ9B and integral helos. The Indian Navy Marine Commandos present onboard the Mission Deployed warship boarded the MV and have commenced the sanitisation,” the statement by the Navy read.
The Indian warship launched its helicopter and issued a warning to the pirates to abandon the hijacked vessel. The Indian crew on board are safe, sources said.
The cargo ship was sailing from Port Du Aco (Brazil) and was bound for Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain. It was hijacked by pirates 300 nautical miles east of Somalia.
The merchant vessel sent a message on the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) portal saying five to six unknown armed personnel had boarded on the evening of January 4, the Indian Navy statement said.
