Cargo Ship Hijack: Cargo Ship with 15 Indians on board hijacked near Somalia

A cargo ship, ‘MV LILA NORFOLK’ with 15 Indians onboard was hijacked on Jan 04 near the coast of Somalia. The Indian Navy is closely watching the cargo ship and has rushed a warship towards it, military officials confirmed. The Indian Navy warship INS Chennai is moving towards the hijacked vessel to tackle the situation. The vessel had sent a message on UKMTO portal indicating the boarding of five to six unknown armed personnel in the evening on Jan 04. The Indian Navy launched a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) for Maritime Security Operations to assist the vessel. The aircraft flew over the vessel on the early morning of Jan 05 and established contact with the vessel.