15 Indians among crew freed after Navy commandos board ship hijacked in Arabian Sea

The merchant vessel had sent a message on the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) portal, indicating that it had been boarded Thursday evening by five-six unknown armed personnel.

“Sanitisation by MARCOS has confirmed the absence of the hijackers,” the Navy said, adding that its “forceful warning” probably made the pirates abandon the hijacking attempt.

The crew members, locked inside the citadel of the vessel, were safely evacuated — a citadel refers to a designated area in a ship where the crew can seek protection in the event of a hijacking.

According to the Navy, the merchant vessel was kept under continuous surveillance using P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, Predator MQ9B UAVs and integral helos (helicopters on a ship) before MARCOS personnel on the warship boarded the vessel and began sanitisation operations.

The Navy said the aircraft flew over MV Lila Norfolk early Friday morning, established contact and ascertained the safety of the crew. It said INS Chennai, on anti-piracy patrolling duty, was diverted to assist the vessel.

The overall situation, the Navy said, was closely monitored in coordination with other agencies in the area.

“The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring safety of merchant shipping in the region along with international partners and friendly foreign countries,” the Navy said in its statement.

This is the latest in a series of recent maritime incidents in the Arabian Sea. In December, the Indian Navy, responding to a piracy incident, had assisted a Malta-flagged vessel, MV Ruen, in the Arabian Sea, around 700 nautical miles from the Indian coast.

On December 23, a Liberia-flagged merchant vessel, MV Chem Pluto, carrying a crew of 22, of which 21 were Indians, came under a drone attack around 220 nautical miles southwest of Porbandar, while it was on its way to New Mangalore.

The attacks, the Navy said, indicated a shift in maritime incidents closer to the Indian exclusive economic zone.

A day after the MV Chem Pluto incident, a Gabon-flagged commercial oil tanker, MV Sai Baba, on its way to India with 25 Indian crew members also came under a drone attack in the southern Red Sea, along with another Norwegian-flagged ship.

In the wake of these incidents, the Navy increased maritime security and surveillance in the central and north Arabian Sea by deploying frontline destroyers, frigates as well as long-range maritime patrol aircraft.

Five warships – INS Kochi, INS Mormugao, INS Kolkata, INS Chennai and a Talwar Class frigate – have been deployed in the Arabian Sea off the Gulf of Aden.

Along with the warships, P8I maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9B Predator drones and Dornier aircraft have been carrying out enhanced surveillance of the region.

As part of its surveillance efforts, the Navy is involved in active investigation of vessels in the Arabian Sea, including boarding of dhows.