Navy begins probe into attack on merchant vessel

MV Chem Pluto ship which was hit by a drone purportedly launched from Iran in the Indian Ocean on Saturday. Pic/Twitter

The Indian Navy has launched an investigation into a suspected drone strike on a Mangalore-bound cargo vessel off India's west coast in the Arabian sea even as the merchant ship is on its way to Mumbai, officials familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The Navy and the Indian Coast Guard swung into action by deploying their assets including a warship and maritime patrol aircraft on Saturday soon after the UK Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, reported the drone "attack" on MV Chem Pluto that has around 20 Indian crew members. There was no report of any casualty in the incident.
The Liberian flagged vessel is now on its way to Mumbai and Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram is providing security to it, the officials said.

The Navy has launched an investigation into the incident including into the origin of the strike, said an official on the condition of anonymity as the matter is sensitive in nature.

The vessel, carrying crude oil to the New Mangalore port from the Al Jubail port in Saudi Arabia, was struck about 217 nautical miles from Porbandar, said another official.

The Navy sent stealth guided-missile destroyer INS Mormugao to the location of the drone strike on Saturday and the officials said the warship is in the process of examining various details relating to the attack, the officials said.

The incident came against the backdrop of Iran-backed Houthi rebels stepping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

2 drone-dropped packets with arms, cash seized near LoC

Two drone-dropped packets containing arms and cash were seized in a joint operation by the Army and the police from a village near the Line of Control in Akhnoor sector here on Sunday, officials said. The packets, believed to have been dropped by Pakistani drones for subversive activities, were noticed lying in an open field in Channi Dewano village in the Khour area at around 7.50 am, they said. The Army and the police launched a joint operation immediately and the packets were opened with the help of a bomb disposal squad, leading to the recovery of the arms and cash, officials said. The recovery included a 9 mm Italian-made pistol, three magazines, 30 rounds, three improvised explosive devices, three IED batteries, a hand grenade and R35,000 in cash, they said.

Doesn't augur well for security of area: Defence expert

Weighing in on the suspected drone attack on an Indian cargo vessel on the high seas, defence expert Wg Cdr (retd) Praful Bakshi on Sunday said the incident marks a security concern for the country and the entire world as the ship came under fire in an ‘innocent area' outside the conflict zone. Speaking on Sunday, the former Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said the suspected drone strike spells concern as it was carried out within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the subcontinent and there were several Indians on board the vessel. "It is very surprising because now you can see the action that was going on around Israel and Gaza, the Red Sea, etc., is now spilling over into the Arabian Sea. That doesn't augur well for the security of this area. As far as we are concerned, it was within the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), close to the Porbandar coast and it had Indians on board," Bakshi said.

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