An Indian naval warship and a long-range maritime patrol aircraft extended assistance to a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo vessel after it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, in the latest in a series of such support missions by the Indian Navy in the region.

The Navy said on Friday that the safety of the crew held hostage by armed pirates was ascertained and 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.

After receiving information about the hijacking of the ship, the Navy on March 12 deployed long-range maritime patrol aircraft (LRMP) P-8I.

The Navy said that on receipt of intimation, the LRMP was immediately deployed, and on locating the merchant vessel in the evening of March 12, it attempted to establish communication to ascertain the status of the ship's crew members. "However, no response was received from the ship," it said.

"The mission deployed warship on maritime security operations, which had also been diverted, intercepted the hijacked vessel on the morning of March 14," the Navy said in a statement.

"The safety of the merchant vessel's crew (all Bangladesh nationals) 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.

In the last few weeks, the Indian Navy has extended assistance to a number of merchant vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following attacks on them.

The Indian Navy, earlier this month, foiled a piracy attempt on an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with a crew of 11 Iranian and eight Pakistani nationals along the East coast of Somalia.

In January, Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued 19 Pakistani crew members of a fishing vessel after their Iranian-flagged vessel was attacked by pirates in the east coast of Somalia.

The Navy on January 5 thwarted an attempted hijacking of Liberian-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea and rescued all its crew members.

Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew members, was the target of a drone attack off India's west coast on December 23.

The Navy has already enhanced deployment of its frontline ships and surveillance aircraft for maritime security operations in view of the maritime environment in critical sea lanes, including in the North and Central Arabian Sea.

There have been mounting global concerns over Houthi militants launching a series of attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea in the last few months.

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