Mumbai: In a matter of great concern, a drone strike damaged a merchant ship off Gujarat coast, in the Arabian Sea.
There was an explosion and a fire on the vessel, but no casualties were reported.
There were 20 Indians among the crew on board MV Chem Pluto, which was located 217 nautical miles off Porbandar coast when it was struck, ANI reported.
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship Vikram, which was deployed to patrol the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, was directed towards the merchant ship in distress after ICG was alerted of a fire incident suspected to be caused by a drone attack.
The vessel, carrying crude oil, was headed towards Mangaluru from a port in Saudi Arabia.
The fire has been extinguished and all crew are safe, but the functioning of the ship has been affected, according to Defence officials.
ICGS Vikram has alerted all ships in the area to provide assistance to MV Chem Pluto.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the drone strike.
Last month, an Israel-owned cargo ship was hit in another suspected drone attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean.
Five days ago, the Indian Navy helped evacuate an injured sailor from a hijacked Malta-flagged cargo vessel. Six ‘pirates’ had illegally boarded MV Ruen.
