Indian Navy warships moving towards Israel-affiliated vessel hit by drone in Arabian Sea, ‘crew safe’
On Saturday, a drone strike damaged a merchant ship off the coast of India on Saturday but caused no casualties, AFP quoted two maritime agencies. One of the vessels is an Israel-affiliated merchant ship, which was struck by an unmanned drone, causing a fire, in the Arabian Sea off India’s west coast.
Indian Defense Officials said that Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram is moving towards a merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea 217 nautical miles off Porbandar cost after it reported a fire incident suspected to be caused by a drone attack.
The defense officials also said that the vessel has crude oil and was going towards Mangalore from a port in Saudi Arabia.
Indian Navy officials informed that Indian Navy warships in the vicinity in the Arabian Sea are also moving towards the merchant ship MV Chem Pluto in the outside Indian EEZ.
“Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram is moving towards a merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea 217 nautical miles off Porbandar cost after it reported a fire incident suspected to be caused by a drone attack. The vessel has crude oil and was going towards Mangalore from a port in Saudi Arabia.”, Indian Navy officials informed.
“As per inputs received, the fire has been extinguished but it has affected its functioning. The ICGS Vikram was deployed on the patrol of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone when it was directed towards the merchant ship in distress. All crew are safe which includes around 20 Indians. The ICGS Vikram has alerted all ships in the area to provide assistance to it, ” the Defence officials added.
There was no immediate claim of responsiblity for the strike which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea.
Iran has also been accused of carrying out attacks near its waters.
Last month, an Israeli-owned cargo ship was hit in a suspected drone attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, according to a US official.
The Malta-flagged vessel managed by an Israeli-affiliated company was reportedly damaged when the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded close to it, according to Ambrey.
The attacks on shipping since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7 have prompted major firms to reroute their cargo vessels around the southern tip of Africa, despite the higher fuel costs of much longer voyages.
The Huthi rebels have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries, according to the Pentagon.
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Published: 23 Dec 2023, 04:35 PM IST
