Washington: Iran on Saturday carried out a drone strike on a crude oil tanker that was on its way to Mangalore from Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said.
The incident took place amid rising regional tensions following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. This is Iran’s seventh attack on commercial vessels since 2021, a Pentagon spokesman said, according to Reuters.
The merchant ship MV Kem Pluto, which was on its way to India with 20 Indian and one Vietnamese crew member on board, was attacked by a drone yesterday. The fire broke out. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rushed to the rescue, the ICG said in an official statement.
The merchant ship started its journey from UAE on December 19. It was supposed to reach New Mangalore port on December 25.
The ship caught fire due to a drone attack. Though the fire has been doused, the overall functioning of the ship has been hampered. News agency ANI reported that all the crew members on board the ship escaped unhurt.
A crude oil tanker with around 20 Indian crew members on board was attacked by a drone in the Arabian Sea, about 200 nautical miles off the Veraval coast in Gujarat, at around 10 am local time on Saturday. The Pentagon said in a statement on Sunday that the ship was owned by Japan and there were no casualties in the attack.
The ship is likely to enter Mumbai. The escort sought help due to steering issues. Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram, which was patrolling the Indian Special Zone, has been asked to move towards the merchant ship in distress. The Coast Guard has also instructed all ships in the area to provide assistance to the ship in distress.
