After A Ship Flying The Flag Of Liberia Was Taken Over In The Arabian Sea, India Dispatched A Warship.

The Indian Navy said on Friday that planes were keeping a close eye on the situation as a warship from the Indian Navy approached a hijacked ship flying the flag of Liberia in the Arabian Sea.

The navy learned about the hijacking of the MV Lila Norfolk off the coast of Somalia on Thursday night, according to military authorities quoted by Indian news agency ANI, in which Reuters holds a minority investment. The crew of the ship included at least fifteen Indians.

Five to six unidentified armed persons boarded the ship on the evening of January 4, according to a message the ship sent on the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations portal, according to an Indian naval statement.

The statement added that a navy aircraft had overflown the hijacked vessel on Friday and had made contact with it. It also stated that an Indian warship, the INS Chennai, had been redirected and sent to help the vessel.

Following a recent wave of strikes in the area, the Indian Navy has stepped up its monitoring of the Arabian Sea.

The Navy announced earlier this week that it had boarded and looked into a significant number of fishing vessels in the North and Central Arabian Sea.