Drone that hit chemical tanker launched from Iran, says US

The Israeli-affiliated tanker was struck in the Indian Ocean

An Israel-affiliated chemical tanker was hit by a drone launched from Iran in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, the US Department of Defence said.

The Liberia-flagged Chem Pluto was struck at around 10am (local time) in the Indian Ocean, nearly 200 nautical miles from India's western coast of Veraval in Gujarat, the Pentagon claimed.

It added that the one-way attack drone was launched from Iran.

The vessel, operated by a Dutch entity and owned by a Japanese company, suffered some structural damage but the fire on board was quickly extinguished, officials said. No casualties were reported.

The vessel had reportedly last called in Saudi Arabia and was destined for India's southern Mangalore port at the time of the attack.

The Indian Navy responded after the shipping company requested assistance, a naval official said.

“Indian Navy had dispatched an aircraft, which arrived overhead the MV (merchant vessel),” a statement said.

“Safety of the crew and ship was ascertained. A warship has also been dispatched to provide any assistance as required.”

The Indian Coast Guard said it deployed its ship, Vikram, on Saturday night and both vessels were expected to reach Mumbai by Monday. Maritime security firm Ambrey said the vessel was heading from Saudi Arabia to India, and was linked to Israel.

In a major escalation of a series of maritime attacks in Middle Eastern waters, Yemeni Houthis rebels have targetted multiple vessels amid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Major global shipping firms have since rerouted their vessels after attacks in the Red Sea, taking the longer and costlier route around the southern tip of Africa.

The US warship, Laboon, separately shot down four attack drones “originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen” on Saturday, the Pentagon’s Central Command (Centcom) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Centcom said Houthi-controlled rebels fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into southern Red Sea shipping lanes with “no ships reported being impacted".

It said an attack drone also came close to a Norwegian-flagged tanker, MV Blaamanen, while another tanker, the Gabon-flagged MV Saibaba, was “hit by a one-way attack drone".

“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi-controlled militants since 17 October,” Centcom said.

The Indian Navy clarified that 25 Indian crew members onboard the MV Saibaba were safe.

Last month, an Israeli-owned cargo ship was hit in a suspected drone attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, US officials said. The Malta-flagged vessel managed by an Israeli-affiliated company suffered damages when the drone exploded close to it.