Indian commandos recaptured a hijacked cargo ship off the coast of Somalia last week, rescuing 21 crew members.
The Liberian flagged MV Lila Norfolk was sailing 450 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia when it was boarded last Thursday by about a half dozen hijackers. The vessel had a multinational crew of 15 Indians and 6 Fillipinos, who sheltered in the ship’s safe room and reportedly sustained no injuries. The Indian Navy’s Marine Commandos (sometimes called MARCOS) retook the vessel the following morning – the hijackers appear to have fled during the night, after the Indian Navy arrived.
“The decisive thwarting of this attempted hijack is a stellar demonstration of mission deployed efforts [by the Indian Navy] to ensure the security of our oceans and seafarers.” Shambhu Kumaran, India’s envoy to the Philippines, wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
