Indian Navy Investigating Drone Strike on Ship off Gujarat: Officials
New Delhi: The Indian Navy warship INS Mormugao has reached the MV Chem Pluto, an India-bound merchant vessel allegedly attacked by an Iranian drone, and gathered details of the incident, officials reported on Sunday.
According to sources, the Indian Navy has initiated an investigation to determine whether the drone used in the attack was launched from a long range or from a nearby vessel.
A Pentagon spokesperson informed Reuters that the motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker, was hit at around 10 am local time (6 am GMT) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles away from the Indian coast, by an Iranian one-way attack drone.
Meanwhile, authorities stated that the Indian Coast Guard ship Vikram was providing escort to the MV Chem Pluto, and both are expected to reach the Mumbai coast on Monday.
Officials from the Indian Coast Guard revealed that ICGS Vikram had reached the distressed ship yesterday evening, and both vessels are currently in Indian waters.
This incident adds to the growing regional tensions following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The Pentagon has labeled this as the “seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021.”
MV Chem Pluto, carrying 20 Indian and one Vietnamese crew member, caught fire on Saturday after being targeted by a suspected drone. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) later secured the vessel, according to an official statement.
The merchant vessel departed from the UAE on December 19 and was heading to New Mangalore port with an estimated arrival date of December 25.
As per the official statement, on December 23, the Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received information about a fire onboard MV Chem Pluto, which was reportedly attacked by a suspected drone strike or aerial platform.
The Indian Coast Guard Maritime Coordination Centre (MRCC), in real-time communication with the vessel’s agent, confirmed no loss of life and provided assurance of assistance.
It was also reported that the crew had successfully extinguished the fire. To enhance the vessel’s safety, MRCC Mumbai activated ISN and redirected nearby merchant vessels to provide assistance.
“The Indian Coast Guard also deployed the Offshore Patrol vessel Vikram and Coast Guard Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to aid Chem Pluto. The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft cleared the area and established communication with Chem Pluto. The vessel is now heading towards Mumbai after conducting damage assessment and repairs on its power generation systems,” the statement further stated.
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