A tanker that was hit by what is believed to be an Iranian drone is being assisted by the Indian Navy 200nm miles offshore. Concerns are being raised because of the distance from shore in an area where the attack took place.
The U.S. Department has blamed the attack on the Liberian-registered tanker Chem Pluto on “a one-way attack drone fired from Iran.” Earlier in the day U.S. officials called out Iran saying it was behind all the recent attacks in the Middle East while Iranian media was citing a commander from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards saying that if the United States and its allies continued the war in Gaza, they would stop shipping in the area and the Mediterranean. The threat cited shipping as far west as the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Indian Coast Guard reported that there was a fire aboard the Chem Pluto (21,323 dwt) after the vessel was struck but the crew was later able to extinguish the fire. Pictures from their overflight of the vessel did not appear to show a fire or damage, but they are reporting that the vessel is having steering issues and assessing issues with its “power generation systems.” The strike happened about 10 a.m. local time but by 8 p.m. the tanker was reported to be underway again.
The concern is that the vessel was in an area that was thought to be safe from attacks. This is beyond the distance of any previously reported incidents launched from Iran.
