Escorted by Indian Coast Guard, ship attacked by drone arrives at Mumbai port
Escorted by Indian Coast Guard, ship attacked by drone arrives at Mumbai port
NEW DELHI: Under the protection of Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram, the attacked merchant ship MV Chem Pluto arrived off the Mumbai port after 3pm on Monday.
The India-bound, Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned and Netherlands-operated Chem Pluto ship was hit 200 nautical miles off the coast of India on December 23.
A joint investigation is being carried out by the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, intelligence agencies and other officials concerned to ascertain how the ship was attacked. Agencies will try to find out whether the projectile used to attack the ship was a missile or a drone.
The navy said that a Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist of the force will be embarking the vessel to sanitise it and undertake further investigation.
The Indian Coast Guard has also enhanced patrolling in the area to provide protection to merchant vessels passing from there, said defence officials.
The attack had caused an explosion and fire on the merchant ship, but no casualties were reported. The crew includes 21 Indians.
The vessel, which is carrying crude oil, was going towards Mangaluru from a port in Saudi Arabia when it was attacked near the Indian coast.
Iran denies involvement
The US has alleged that Iran is behind the drone attack on the chemical tankers, an allegation that Tehran has vehemently denied.
“These repetitive accusations are rejected as baseless,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said at a briefing, adding that the US instead should face accusations for its role in Israel’s war in Gaza.
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A Pentagon spokesperson had told reporters that MV Chem Pluto was hit by “a one-way attack drone fired from Iran”.
The attack came against the backdrop of Iran-backed Houthi rebels stepping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A Gabon-flagged commercial crude oil tanker with 25 Indian crew members also reportedly came under a drone attack in the Southern Red Sea but no one was injured.
The US Central Command said the vessel, MV Sai Baba, was targeted by a drone launched by Houthi militants in the Southern Red Sea on Saturday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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