A cargo ship, ‘MV LILA NORFOLK’ has been hijacked late last evening near the coast of Somalia and is being closely watched by the Indian Navy which has rushed a warship towards it, military officials said on Friday.

The hijacked ship has 15 Indians on board and communication has been established with the crew.

As per military officials, the information about the ship being hijacked off Somalia coast was received on Thursday evening. Moreover, the Indian Navy aircraft have been keeping a watch on the ship.

Additionally, the Indian Navy warship INS Chennai is moving towards the hijacked vessel to tackle the situation.

Further details are awaited.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The ship, MV Lila Norfolk, was hijacked near Somalia’s coast and the navy received information about it on Thursday evening.
Indian Navy’s warship INS Chennai was diverted and deployed to assist the vessel. A naval aircraft overflew the hijacked vessel today and established contact with it.
The ship sent a message on the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations portal saying five to six unknown armed personnel had boarded on Thursday evening.
The Indian navy has increased its surveillance of the Arabian Sea after a recent spate of attacks in the region.
Earlier this week, the navy said it had investigated a large number of fishing vessels and boarded vessels of interest in the North and Central Arabian Sea.

Arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji cannot be removed without the consent of the Chief Minister, the Supreme Court said today and dismissed a request by a social activist for his removal.

The Supreme Court’s judgment agreed with the Madras High Court’s verdict that said the Chief Minister can decide whether Mr Balaji, a minister from the ruling DMK, should be renoved as a “minister without a portfolio in the state cabinet serves no purpose.”