NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - India's navy said Friday that its

commandos had boarded a vessel in the Arabian Sea after a hijacking distress
call, the latest attack on commercial shipping in the region.

Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to "maintain a
deterrent presence" after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a
drone strike near India's coast blamed on Iran by the United States.

It comes at a time when many vessels have been rerouted from the Red Sea,
where Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have carried out drone and missile
attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling
Hamas militants.

The navy said it had "responded swiftly to a maritime incident in the Arabian
Sea involving a hijacking attempt" of the MV Lila Norfolk, a Liberian-flagged
bulk carrier.

The INS Chennai, a navy destroyer, had intercepted the vessel on Friday
afternoon and a spokesman told AFP that commandos were in the process of
ensuring it was "clear of any illegal persons who were reported on the vessel
earlier".

It did not give a more precise location of the vessel, which was last pinged
by online marine traffic monitors off the coast of East Africa six days
earlier.

Local media reported that 15 Indian crew members were aboard the 84,000-tonne
ship, owned by the Dubai-based bulk shipping company Lila Global.

Five or six "unknown armed personnel" had boarded the vessel on Thursday
evening, the navy said.

It did not specify whether hijackers had gained control of the ship at any
point but said an overhead patrol flight had ascertained the safety of the
crew on Friday morning.

- 'Committed to ensuring safety' -

"The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring safety of merchant shipping in
the region along with international partners and friendly foreign countries,"
the navy said.

Last month a drone attack hit the MV Chem Pluto tanker 200 nautical miles
(370 kilometres) off the coast of India.

Iran's foreign ministry rejected accusations of responsibility for that
attack by Washington as "worthless".

It was the first time Washington had openly accused Iran of directly
targeting ships since the start of Israel's war on the Palestinian militant
group Hamas, which is backed by Tehran.

That conflict was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel launched by
Hamas on October 7 from the Gaza Strip, during which about 1,140 people,
mostly civilians, were killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli
figures. Fighters also seized about 250 hostages, Israel says.

Israel's campaign has killed at least 22,600 people in Gaza, mostly women and
children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Yemeni rebel attacks have prompted major firms to reroute their cargo vessels
around the southern tip of Africa, a much longer voyage with higher fuel
costs.