Chemical tanker in Indian Ocean struck by Iranian attack drone, Pentagon confirms
A chemical tanker operating in the Indian Ocean was struck by an Iranian attack drone on Saturday, according to a US Department of Defense official. This marked 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) in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran.
Fortunately, there were no casualties and a fire on board the tanker has been extinguished, the defense official confirmed.
India’s coast guard reported that there were 20 Indian crew members and one Vietnamese crew member on board at the time of the attack, with no casualties reported.
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 strike in the Indian Ocean comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched more than 100 attacks against about a dozen commercial and merchant ships transiting the Red Sea over the past four weeks.
In response to the ongoing attacks, the US has launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a maritime coalition aimed at beefing up security in the southern Red Sea, with more than 20 nations having signed on to the initiative so far.
The newly declassified intelligence suggests that “Iranian support throughout the Gaza crisis has enabled the Houthis to launch attacks against Israel and maritime targets, though Iran has often deferred operational decision-making authority to the Houthis,” a National Security Council spokesperson told CNN.
The US Central Command also reported more incidents in the Red Sea, including the firing of anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and the shooting down of aerial drones by the USS Laboon, a Navy destroyer. The statement also confirmed a near miss on a separate chemical tanker operating in the southern Red Sea from a one-way drone.
The Pentagon’s confirmation of the Iranian attack drone strike in the Indian Ocean may mark a new escalation in tensions, as the US releases newly declassified intelligence pointing to Iran’s involvement in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.