On Saturday, December 23, an Iranian drone hit the Chem Pluto chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean. This is the seventh Iranian attack on a commercial vessel since 2021.
This was reported by Reuters.
The Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Chem Pluto, owned by Japan and operated by the Netherlands, was 200 nautical miles off the coast of India at the time of the attack. The drone was launched from the territory of Iran. As a result, none of the crew was injured, and a fire broke out on board the vessel, which was extinguished.
DRONE ATTACK ON MV CHEM PLUTO-Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre,Mumbai received information regarding fire onboard MV Chem Pluto. The Merchant ship with 20 Indian &01 Vietnamese Crew was reportedly attacked by a suspected drone strike on aerial platform.(1/6) pic.twitter.com/CpioW9MfT9
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) December 23, 2023
The US Central Command noted that no US ships were in the vicinity. The Indian Coast Guard reported that there were 21 crew members on board.
