January 5, 2024: Military officials informed that a Liberian-flagged vessel with at least 15 Indian crew members onboard has been hijacked near Somalia’s coast. The information about the hijacking of the ship was announced on Thursday evening.

However, the Indian Navy is closely monitoring the development of the ship ‘MV LILA NORFOLK’. As per sources, Indian Navy warship INS Chennai is moving towards the hijacked vessel to tackle the situation.

The hijacking incident occurred days after a Maltese-flagged merchant vessel was seized by unknown attackers in the Arabian Sea. The vessel had indicated that six 'pirates' had illegally boarded it.