Indian Navy, support vessel extinguish fire on fishing boat near Kakinada in AP

KAKINADA, CHENNAI: The Indian Naval Ship T38, along with the offshore support vessel MV Erin, successfully extinguished a fire on board fishing boat S Nookaraju near the Offshore Development Area (ODA) Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

The fire broke out on board the fishing vessel near the Offshore Development Area (ODA) in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada on Tuesday. There were no casualties and the crew members were transferred to another fishing vessel. The damaged boat and crew were escorted to Upada village near Kakinada.

Meanwhile, Indian Naval Warship INS Chennai, which rescued the hijacked bulk carrier MV Lila Norfolk, on January 5, successfully reached Chennai, Tamil Nadu on Friday.

Indian naval warship INS Chennai, on January 5, reached the hijacked vessel MV Lila Norfolk off Somalia coast and issued a warning to the pirates on board to abandon the vessel, military officials said.

The Indian warship has also launched its helicopter and the Marine Commandos (MARCOS) are ready for operations. All the Indian crew on board are safe, the officials added.

Earlier, the officials had informed that Merchant vessel MV Lila Norfolk was hijacked by pirates 300 nautical miles east of Somalia, while it was sailing from Port Du Aco in Brazil and was bound for Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain.

The Indian Navy’s Mission Deployed Platforms responded swiftly to the hijacking attempt on board a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier after it received a message on the UKMTO portal indicating boarding by approximately five to six unknown armed personnel on Thursday evening, the Indian Navy said in a statement

In response to the situation, the Indian Navy launched a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and diverted INS Chennai, deployed for maritime security operations, to assist the vessel. The aircraft overflew the vessel and established contact with the vessel, ascertaining the safety of the crew. (ANI)