The drone attack on a Mangalore-bound cargo vessel off India's west coast in the Arabian Sea on Saturday was launched from Iran, the Pentagon said.
MV CHEM PLUTO, which has 21 Indian crew members, was carrying crude oil to the New Mangalore port from the Al Jubail port in Saudi Arabia. It was struck about 217 nautical miles from Porbandar. There was no report of any casualties in the incident.
"The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran," a Pentagon spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The statement also said this was the "seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021”.
The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel has escalated regional tensions, putting the shipping lanes at risk. The Iranian government and its allied militant forces in Yemen have condemned the Israeli government's military operation in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has launched a probe into the strike ahead of the merchant ship's expected arrival in Mumbai on Monday.
A day after the attack on MV CHEM PLUTO, the Navy said that a Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist of the force will be embarking the vessel on arrival at Mumbai to sanitise it and probe further.
“The Indian Navy continues to monitor the situation very closely with all stakeholders and remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region,” it said in a statement.
The Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, on Saturday, deployed a warship and maritime patrol aircraft, soon after the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported the drone "attack" on MV CHEM PLUTO.
The Liberian-flagged vessel is now on its way to Mumbai, escorted by ICGS Vikram.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks on ships in the Red Sea. A Gabon-flagged commercial crude oil tanker – MV Saibaba - with 25 Indian crew members, too, came under a drone attack in the Southern Red Sea but no one was injured, Indian officials and the US military.
On Saturday, the UKMTO which operates under Britain's Royal Navy, said it received a report of an attack by Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) on a vessel causing an explosion and fire, adding the incident took place 200 nautical miles south west of Veraval in India.
It said the fire was "extinguished" and there were no casualties.
