Merchant vessel Chem Pluto, the target of a drone attack in the Arabian Sea on December 23, on Monday reached Mumbai escorted by Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram, and the Indian Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal specialists embarked the vessel for a preliminary assessment that pointed towards a drone attack, the navy said in a statement.
The Indian Navy, coast guard and intelligence agencies have begun a joint investigation after the analysis by the specialists.
“On her arrival, the Indian Navy explosive ordnance disposal team inspected the vessel to make a preliminary assessment of the type and nature of attack. Analysis of the area of attack and debris found on the ship points towards a drone attack. However, further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used,” the statement said.
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The Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, MV Chem Pluto, is carrying a crew of 22, including 21 Indians and a Vietnamese national. It suffered some damage in the attack that took place 217 nautical miles off India’s west coast. The master in command of the vessel has been identified as Deepesh Badikkihil.
{{/usCountry}}The Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, MV Chem Pluto, is carrying a crew of 22, including 21 Indians and a Vietnamese national. It suffered some damage in the attack that took place 217 nautical miles off India’s west coast. The master in command of the vessel has been identified as Deepesh Badikkihil.
{{/usCountry}}“MV Chem Pluto has been cleared for further operation by her company-in-charge at Mumbai. The ship is scheduled to undergo mandatory checks by various inspecting authorities before undertaking ship-to-ship transfer of cargo. This is likely to be followed by docking and repairs of damaged portion of MV Chem Pluto,” the navy said.
Considering the recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea, the navy has deployed guided missile destroyers, INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata in the region to maintain a deterrent presence, it added.
“Long-range maritime reconnaissance P-8I aircraft are being regularly tasked to maintain domain awareness. Western Naval Command’s Maritime Operations Centre is actively monitoring the situation in close coordination with Coast Guard and all concerned agencies.”
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The ship’s cargo, ethylene dichloride, will be transferred to another vessel Chem Lithium, which has been arranged by the shipping company, HT has learnt.
A drone fired from Iran struck the chemical tanker in the Arabian Sea, the US Department of Defense said on Sunday. But Iran denied on Monday the US claim.
“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.
MV Chem Pluto was struck on a day a Gabon-flagged merchant vessel Saibaba carrying a crew of 25 Indians came under a drone attack in the southern Red Sea, but the crew suffered no injuries. The US Central Command said on Sunday that MV Saibaba was one of the two merchant vessels targeted by Houthi rebels on Saturday. The vessel’s last known position was in the Red Sea.
The attack on MV Saibaba was the 15th such attack on commercial shipping since October 17, the US Central Command said.
Houthi militia has been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with missiles and drones after the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared their support for Hamas. Several shipping companies have suspended their operations in the Red Sea following the Houthi attacks, which have forced mariners to change course and take longer routes around southern tip of Africa.
The Indian Navy and the coast guard deployed their assets to render help to MV Chem Pluto, which was carrying chemicals from Saudi Arabia’s Jubail port to New Mangalore. The navy diverted stealth destroyer INS Mormugao and the coast guard its patrol vessel Vikram to MV Chem Pluto’s location where it was disabled after its power generation system was hit.
The navy and the coast guard also scrambled their maritime surveillance planes, a P-8I and a Dornier, to respond to the emergency within minutes of receiving information about the emergency flagged by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which acts as the primary point of contact for merchant vessels and liaison with military forces in the region. The region has also witnessed the resurgence of piracy.
INS Kochi had earlier intercepted Maltese-flagged merchant vessel Ruen that was seized by unknown attackers in the Arabian Sea on December 14. The Indian warship tailed the hijacked vessel until it entered the territorial waters of Somalia. One of the 18 sailors on board MV Ruen was on December 18 transferred to the Indian stealth destroyer for medical assistance after he was injured. He was transferred ashore at Oman the following day.
The navy, which has been deployed in the Gulf of Aden for more than 15 years, has deployed another warship in the region to support the anti-piracy effort.
The Ruen incident put piracy in the Arabian Sea back in the spotlight. Pirate attacks in the region peaked between 2008 and 2013 but had steadily declined thereafter because of the concerted efforts of the multinational maritime task force operating in the region.
The region accounted for almost 700 pirate attacks during 2008-13, but the figure nosedived to a mere 16 during 2014-19, according to data published by the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation Atalanta - the EU maritime security operation in the western Indian Ocean. The December 14 incident was the first in the last three years.
So far 107 Indian warships have been deployed in the Gulf of Aden to ensure safe passage of India-flagged merchant vessels and they have thwarted scores of piracy attempts and safely escorted thousands of ships with tens of thousands of Indian sailors.