The Indian Navy on Saturday said that deployed its maritime patrol aircraft and its warship in response to a hijacking incident in the Arabian Sea involving a Malta-flagged vessel with 18 crew members on board.
The Navy responded to the incident in the Gulf of Aden after it received a distress call from the Maltan vessel, MV Reun.
The vessel was heading towards Somalia on Thursday when it was attacked, reported NDTV. The United Kingdom’s Marine Trade Operations said that the crew had lost control of the vessel.
“The aircraft overflew the hijacked vessel on early morning of December 15 and the aircraft has been continuously monitoring movement of the vessel, which is now heading towards the coast of Somalia,” the Indian Navy spokesperson said in a tweet.
The situation is being closely monitored in coordination with other agencies in the area, the Navy added.
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