Indian Navy responds swiftly to hijacking incident in Arabian Sea, INS Chennai rushing towards distressed vessel

New Delhi, Jan 05: The Indian Navy's Mission Deployed Platforms responded swiftly to the hijacking attempt on board a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier after it received a message on the UKMTO portal indicating boarding by approximately five to six unknown armed personnel on Thursday evening, the Indian Navy said in an official statement on Friday.

In response to the situation, the Indian Navy launched an Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and diverted INS Chennai, deployed for maritime security operations, to assist the vessel.

The aircraft overflew the vessel on Friday morning and established contact with the vessel, ascertaining the safety of the crew.

As per the Indian Navy, Naval aircraft is continuously monitoring the movement of the vessel and Indian warship INS Chennai is closing the vessel to render assistance.

The overall situation is being closely monitored in coordination with other agencies and MNFs in the area, Indian Navy said.