Drone Strikes Ship With 20 Indians Onboard Off Gujarat. Coast Guard Establishes Contact

A merchant ship in the Indian Ocean was damaged in a drone strike. So far, No casualties were reported in the attack off the coast of India.

An Israel-affiliated merchant vessel, MV Chem Pluto, en route to India, was attacked by a suspected drone off the west coast of India, approximately 200 km southwest of Veraval. The attack caused a fire on the Liberian-flagged tanker, which was subsequently extinguished by the crew, with no reported casualties, news agency Reuters reported. The vessel, carrying 20 Indian and one Vietnamese crew member, had departed from the UAE on December 19, bound for New Mangalore port with an expected arrival date of December 25.

British maritime security firm Ambrey reported the attack, stating that it occurred in an area identified as a heightened threat zone for Iranian UAVs (Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles). The incident marks the first known attack of this nature taking place away from the Red Sea since the Gaza war, Reuters reported.

"Merchant vessels are advised these types of attacks are typically targeted at Israel-affiliated shipping, but have in the past mistakenly hit previously Israel-affiliated vessels," Ambrey noted, as per Reuters.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in an official statement confirmed the successful dousing of the fire by the vessel's crew. The Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received information about the incident. The crew reported that the fire had been extinguished, and there were no casualties, as reported by news agency ANI.

The ICG activated the ISN (Information Sharing and Analysis Centre) and diverted nearby merchant vessels to assist MV Chem Pluto.

As part of the response efforts, the Indian Coast Guard deployed the Offshore Patrol Vessel Vikram and a Coast Guard Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft. The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft sanitised the area and communicated with MV Chem Pluto, ANI reported.

The vessel, after conducting a damage assessment and repairing its power generation systems, is making its way to Mumbai. Due to steering issues, it is expected to seek escort assistance upon entering Mumbai, with Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram providing the escort.

"The Indian Coast Guard Operations Centre is monitoring the situation closely," the statement informed, as quoted by ANI.

ANI also shared isuals of the MV Chem Pluto taken by the Indian Coast Guard’s Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft in the Arabian Sea after it was hit by a suspected drone.

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