All 21 crew members, including Indian nationals, who were aboard the cargo ship ‘MV Lila Norfolk’ during a hijacking incident near the coast of Somalia late yesterday, have been successfully rescued by Indian Navy commandos and are confirmed safe, according to official statements.
Responding to a distress call related to the hijacking of the 84,000-tonne bulk carrier by five or six “unknown armed personnel” on Thursday evening, the Navy swiftly deployed a comprehensive operation. This involved a warship, maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters, P-8I and long-range aircraft, and Predator MQ9B drones.
Elite commandos, known as MARCOS, conducted a thorough sweep of the cargo ship in the Arabian Sea. They successfully rescued the 15 Indian crew members from the ship’s citadel—a fortified area on commercial vessels used as a safe haven during pirate attacks. The Navy confirmed the absence of hijackers on the ship in an official statement.
The naval warship INS Chennai, originally on anti-piracy patrol, was diverted to the scene. It launched a helicopter and issued warnings to the pirates, urging them to abandon the hijacked vessel. The warship is currently engaged in efforts to restore power and propulsion to facilitate the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier’s journey to its next port of call.
While the report did not specify if the hijackers had gained control of the ship at any point, an earlier statement noted that an overhead patrol flight had confirmed the safety of the crew on Friday morning.
Steve Kunzer, the chief executive of Lila Global, the Dubai-based owners of the vessel, expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy for their successful rescue mission.