Navy investigating drone attack on merchant ship off Indian coast: Officials

The Indian Navy cruiser INS Mormugao arrived to the MV Chem Pluto, the India-bound merchant vessel that was “attacked by an Iranian drone” on Saturday night and ascertained specifics of the attack, officials said on Sunday. The Indian Navy, according to officials, has initiated an investigation to determine whether the drone used to attack the vessel was launched from a considerable distance or from a local vessel. An official informed ANI, “The vessels operating in the area where the attack took place are being checked.” A Pentagon spokesperson told Reuters that the motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Dutch-operated chemical tanker, was hit by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles off the coast of India. Meanwhile, the Indian shore Guard ship Vikram is escorting the MV Chem Pluto, which is slated to arrive on the Mumbai shore on Monday. According to Indian Coast Guard officials, the ICGS Vikram arrived at the stranded ship Friday evening and both are currently in Indian seas. The incident comes as the latest illustration of the growing regional tensions after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The Pentagon said this was the “seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021”. MV Chem Pluto, with 20 Indian and one Vietnamese crew member on Saturday caught fire after it was attacked by a suspected drone. It was later secured by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the ICG said in an official statement. The merchant vessel reportedly commenced its voyage from the UAE on December 19 and was bound for New Mangalore port with an arrival date of December 25. According to the official statement, on December 23, the Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received information regarding a fire onboard MV Chem Pluto, reportedly attacked by a suspected drone strike or aerial platform. The Indian Coast Guard Maritime Coordination Centre (MRCC), which established real-time communication with the vessel’s agent, ascertained no loss of life and assured all assistance. It was also learned that the vessel fire had been doused by the crew. To augment the vessel’s safety, MRCC Mumbai has activated ISN and immediately diverted other merchant vessels in the vicinity of Chem Pluto for assistance. “The Indian Coast Guard also pressed Offshore Patrol vessel Vikram and Coast Guard Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft into action for rendering assistance to Chem Pluto. The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft has sanitised the area and established communication with Chem Pluto. The vessel has started making its way towards Mumbai after undertaking damage assessment and repairs on its power generation systems,” the statement further read.