Sailing the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea, the MV Chem Pluto, a merchant vessel manned by approximately 20 Indian crew members, faced an unexpected and ominous encounter on Saturday, December 23.
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| Iranian Drone Strikes Chemical Tanker Near Indian Coast: Escalating Tensions and Naval Response |
Virginia, December 24: The Pentagon has identified the culprit behind the drone attack on a chemical tanker near India's coast as an Iranian drone, according to Reuters. The incident occurred 200 nautical miles South West of Veraval in India on Saturday.
A spokesperson from the Pentagon revealed that the Japanese-owned and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker, motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, fell victim to a 'one-way attack drone fired from Iran.'
Pentagon says Iranian drone 'attack' hit chemical tanker near India, reports Reuters
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2023
Merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto
The targeted vessel, MV Chem Pluto, carrying around 20 Indian crew members, came under drone attack approximately 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea on December 23.
🚨 First visual of Drone hit Merchant Ship MV Chem Pluto in Arabian Sea in bound to Mumbai Port. Indian Coast Guard Dornier Aircraft recorded this footage of it.
— Vivek Singh (@VivekSi85847001) December 23, 2023
Indian Navy & Coast Guard vessels to escort it to #India 🇮🇳
It was off from Saudi Arabia with Oil to India. pic.twitter.com/ck3kK0nPwh
Fortunately, no casualties were reported, as confirmed by Indian military sources and a maritime security agency, as per PTI.
The attack on the vessel coincides with heightened aggression from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been intensifying their attacks on ships in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Vessel on its way to Mumbai
After conducting damage assessment and repairs on its power generation systems, the vessel set course for Mumbai. However, due to steering issues, the Indian Coast Guard reported that the ship has sought escort assistance.
#WATCH | Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram escorting merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea towards Mumbai in the morning today. The merchant ship hit by a drone yesterday had requested to be escorted by the ICGS Vikram. ICG Dorniers are also airborne to keep an eye… pic.twitter.com/6FIqcayHj4
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2023
Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram is slated to escort the vessel during its passage to Mumbai, with the Indian Coast Guard Operations Centre closely monitoring the situation, as stated in a late-night announcement on December 23.
In response to the incident, the Indian Navy dispatched a frontline warship earlier to assist the merchant ship.
