Indian warship 'in close vicinity' of hijacked Bangladeshi ship: Indian navy

The Indian Navy today said in a statement that it was in close vicinity of the Bangladeshi ship hijacked in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. 

In the statement, the navy said the safety of the crew held hostage by armed pirates was ascertained. 

The Indian Navy warship continued to maintain its presence in the close vicinity of the vessel till its arrival in the territorial waters of Somalia.

On receiving information about the hijacking of the ship, the navy on March 12 deployed long-range maritime patrol aircraft (LRMP) P-8I which located the merchant vessel the same evening, the Indian Navy said in a statement today.

The aircraft then tried to establish communication to ascertain the status of the ship's crew members.

#IndianNavy's Mission Deployed warship & an LRMP responded to a piracy attack on MV Abdullah, a Bangladeshi-flagged vessel, whilst enroute from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates.

On receipt of intimation, the LRMP was immediately deployed & after locating the MV in evening… pic.twitter.com/mSkscXZwJK

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 15, 2024

"However, no response was received from the ship," it said.

The Indian Navy deployed a warship, which is on maritime security operations in the region, then caught sight of the hijacked vessel on the morning of March 14, the Navy said.

"The safety of the merchant vessel's crew held hostage by the armed pirates was ascertained and the Indian Navy warship continued to maintain in close vicinity of the vessel till its arrival in the territorial waters of Somalia," it said.

MV Abdullah was sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE with 58,000 tonnes of coal when it was hijacked by pirates, believed to be Somalian.