Commandos rescue crew of hijacked merchant ship

Marine commandos of the Indian Navy on Friday chased and boarded a Liberian-flagged merchant vessel that was taken over by armed hijackers in the Arabian Sea, and rescued the 21-member crew, including 15 Indians.

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The dramatic rescue came after the Indian Navy deployed a maritime patrol aircraft, drones and guided missile destroyer INS Chennai to assist MV Lila Norfolk, whose crew informed the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Thursday evening that five to six "unauthorised armed persons" had boarded the vessel 460 nautical miles east of Eyl in Somalia.

All crew members of the merchant vessel were safely evacuated from a strongroom in which they had been sheltering to avoid being taken hostage. "Sanitisation by the marine commandos has confirmed absence of the hijackers," a navy spokesperson said.

No pirates were found on board and the vessel was proceeding towards Bahrain. It was not immediately clear when or how the hijackers fled the merchant vessel.

Steve Kunzer, CEO of Lila Global, the operator of MV Lila Norfolk, confirmed the crew was rescued by the Indian Navy warship, and that the "vessel and crew are all safe".