Red Sea crisis spilling over? Drone strike on commercial ship off Indian coast

Attack is believed to be a spillover from Red Sea crisis, where Yemen-based Houthi rebels have been targeting commercial ships they suspect to be heading to or from Israel.

Location where MV Chem Pluto was attacked in the Indian Ocean, as shown in UKMTO's alert | UKMTO

New Delhi: A commercial vessel carrying oil from Saudi Arabia to Mangaluru came under attack Saturday by a drone about 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast, in what is being seen as the Red Sea crisis spilling closer to home.

The incident saw the Indian Coast Guard and the Navy quickly getting into action and launching not just surface vessels but also the Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft.  

Coast Guard officials said that the Dornier aircraft had established communication with the distressed vessel, MV Chem Pluto, sailing under a Liberian flag. It was learnt that after the drone attack, the ship switched off its Automatic Identification System, which can be used to track the vessel. 

There was also a fire on board the ship, which has been doused. The officials said that the ship’s power generation system is now functional and more checks are being carried out before it sets out for its destination.

Coast Guard vessel Vikram, which was deployed on patrol in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, was directed towards the merchant vessel in distress. 

Defence sources said that all crew, including about 20 Indians, were safe. They also added that the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), based in Gurugram, played a critical role as it coordinated the response.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had first issued a public alert on the incident, after which the Indian authorities swung into action. 

The attack near the Indian coast is believed to be a spillover from the Red Sea crisis, where Yemen-based Houthi rebels have been targeting commercial ships they suspect to be heading to or from Israel.