The Indian Navy cruiser INS Mormugao arrived on Saturday night at the MV Chem Pluto, an India-bound merchant vessel that had been attacked by an Iranian drone, 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 a local vessel.
“The vessels operating in the area where the attack took place are being checked”, the officer said.
A Pentagon spokesperson stated that a one-way attack drone fired from Iran struck the motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker, 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 is the latest manifestation of rising regional tensions following the October 7 Hamas strikes on Israel.
According to the Pentagon, this is the seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021.
In a statement, the ICG stated, “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 merchant vessel reportedly set sail from the UAE on December 19 and was scheduled to arrive in New Mangalore on December 25.
According to the official statement, the Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received information on December 23 of a fire onboard the MV Chem Pluto, which was allegedly assaulted 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, confirmed that no lives were lost and pledged all assistance.
It was also discovered that the crew had extinguished the vessel fire. To ensure the vessel’s safety, MRCC Mumbai activated ISN and promptly diverted other merchant vessels around Chem Pluto for aid.
“The Indian Coast Guard also pressed Offshore Patrol vessel Vikram and Coast Guard Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft into action for helping Chem Pluto”, the statement reads.
It went on to say, “The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft has sanitized 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”.
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