Pentagon says chemical tanker struck by Iranian drone in Indian Ocean

Pentagon says chemical tanker struck by Iranian drone in Indian Ocean

A chemical tanker operating in the Indian Ocean was struck by an Iranian attack drone Saturday, a US Department of Defense official said, the seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021.
“The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran,” the official said in a statement.
A one-way attack drone is designed to impact its target rather than return to its origin. “There were no casualties and a fire on board the tanker has been extinguished,” the defense official said.
“No US Navy vessels were in the vicinity,” the statement said, adding Naval Forces Central Command was communicating with the struck vessel.
India’s coast guard said there were 20 Indian crew members, and one Vietnamese, on board at the time of the attack. However, it added that no casualties had been reported.
It said it had dispatched a patrol vessel and a maritime surveillance aircraft after establishing communication with the vessel.
After conducting damage assessment and repairs on its power generation systems, MV Chem Pluto had started making its way toward Mumbai while being escorted by the patrol vessel, the coast guard said.
The ship left Saudi Arabia on December 19 and was expected to arrive in India’s southwestern port city of Mangalore on December 25.