VIDEO: Indian Navy rescues crew of hijacked bulker

Screengrab from Indian Navy video

In a reminder that piracy off the coast of Somalia remains a growing threat, the Indian Navy has safely rescued all 21 crew, including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier that was reported as being boarded by five to six unauthorized personnel at 17.35 UTC yesterday when 460 nautical miles east of Eyl, Somalia.

The hijacked bulker was subsequently identified as the Lila Norfolk, a 170,000 dwt Liberian-flagged vessel operated by Dubai-based Kyra Global Marine Services.

According to the U.K. Maritime Trades Office (UKMTO) the crew mustered in the ship’s citadel.

The Indian Navy destroyer INS Chennai diverted from its antipiracy patrol, launched its helicopter, and issued a warning to the hijackers to abandon the vessel.

The destroyer intercepted the bulker at 15.15 local time. A team of Indian Navy elite Marine Commandos (MARCOS) boarded the ship, confirmed the absence of any hijackers, and rescued the crew,

RED SEA

Meantime, the security situation in the Red Sea remains tense. As we reported yesterday, the Houthi response to international warnings against continuing attacks on merchant ships appears to have been to aim a drone boat laden with explosives towards international shipping lanes.

A.P. Moller – Maersk told customers today, “the situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level. We have therefore decided that all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future.”

“While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near-future and do all we can to contribute towards it, we do encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and for there to be significant disruption to the global network.”