All 21 crew members, together with Indians, aboard the cargo ship, ‘MV Lila Norfolk’, that was hijacked late final night close to the coast of Somalia have been rescued and are secure, stated officers.

The Navy deployed a warship, maritime patrol plane, helicopters and P-8I and long-range plane and Predator MQ9B drones following a hijacking misery name involving the 84,000-tonne bulk provider that had been boarded by 5 or 6 “unknown armed personnel” on Thursday night.

The elite commandos, MARCOS, sanitised the cargo ship within the Arabian Sea and rescued the 15 Indians from the ship’s citadel – a fortified part of economic vessels used as a refuge throughout pirate assaults. The commandos have confirmed the absence of hjijackers on the ship, stated the Navy in a press release.

“All 21 crew together with 15 Indians onboard the vessel have been safely evacuated from the citadel,” Indian Navy’s spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal stated.

“Sanitisation by MARCOS commandos has confirmed the absence of the hijackers. The try of hijacking by the pirates was most likely deserted with the forceful warning by Indian Navy’s maritime patrol plane of interception by naval warship,” the spokesperson added.

Naval warship INS Chennai, a navy destroyer, that was diverted from its anti-piracy patrol, launched its helicopter and issued warning to pirates to desert the hijacked vessel.

The Navy added that the warship was working to revive energy and propulsion to permit the Liberian-flagged bulk provider to proceed to its subsequent port of name.

It didn’t specify whether or not the hijackers had gained management of the ship at any level however stated earlier that an overhead patrol flight had confirmed the security of the crew on Friday morning.

Steve Kunzer, chief govt of the vessel’s Dubai-based house owners Lila International, thanked the Indian Navy for the rescue.

“We additionally need to thank the professionalism of our crew who reacted safely and responsibly beneath the circumstances,” he stated in a press release.

The hijacking was reported by the UK Maritime Commerce Operations (UKMTO), a British navy organisation that tracks actions of varied vessels in strategic waterways.

Naval warship INS Chennai, a navy destroyer, that was diverted from its anti-piracy patrol, launched its helicopter and issued warning to pirates to desert the hijacked vessel.

Final month the Navy deployed a number of warships into the ocean to “keep a deterrent presence” after a string of current transport assaults, together with a drone assault close to India’s coast blamed on Iran by america.

The newest assault comes at a time when many vessels have been rerouted from the Purple Sea, the place Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out drone and missile assaults in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the place Israel is battling Hamas.

Final month a drone assault hit the MV Chem Pluto tanker 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) off the coast of India.