The Indian Navy sent a warship in response to an “attempted hijacking” of a Liberian-flagged ship with at least 15 Indian nationals on board in the Arabian Sea, near the coast of Somalia, it said in a statement this Friday. .
The grain ship sent an alarm message to the UK Commercial Maritime Operations Navy when five to six unknown armed individuals boarded on Thursday afternoon.
(Also: South Korea evacuated border islands due to North Korean artillery fire in the area).
“Indian Navy's deployed mission platforms responded quickly,” with the dispatch of a maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and the dispatch of the ship INS Chennai, deployed for maritime security operations, to assist the ship, says the statement, which does not specify whether the intruders control the cargo ship or what occurred after the collision.
The plane flew over the area where the ship is located this morning and developed contact with the ship to check the safety of the crew.
“The aircraft continues to monitor the movement and INS Chennai is approaching the vessel to provide assistance,” the Indian Navy said.
Image showing the assault ship in the Arabian Sea (Illustrative).
(Be sure to read: Seoul responded to North Korean artillery test in the Yellow Sea with a live fire maneuver).
India has reinforced surveillance in the Arabian Sea in recent weeks by deploying several destroyers, including the INS Chennai, days after a merchant ship was attacked.
The attempted hijacking of the Liberian ship took place near the coast of Somalia, the country with the longest coastline in all of Africa (more than 3,000 kilometers), and whose waters were the scene between 2005 and 2011 of constant attacks and boat hijackings. perpetrated by pirates who demanded high ransoms.
Furthermore, the recent escalation of attacks launched from Yemeni territory, which has included ship hijackings, has put global trade in check on the crucial Red Sea and Arabian Sea route.
The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, announced that they would attack ships flying the flag of the Jewish State, owned by Israeli companies or destined for Israel in the Bab al Mandeb Strait, in retaliation for Israel's indiscriminate attack on the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
EFE
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