Missile strike hits merchant ship off India’s coast; crew includes 21 Indians

A missile strike damaged a merchant ship off India's coast on Saturday (Dec 23) morning. The attack occurred 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval and resulted in asubstantial explosion, causing significant damage to the vessel.However, no casualties were reported.The United Kingdom's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) hadfirst issued a public alert of the incident.

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The vessel called MV Chem Pluto had crude oil and was going towards Mangalore from a port in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to the news agency ANI, defence officials said the Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram was moving towards the merchant's vessel. "As per inputs received, the fire has been extinguished but it has affected its functioning," the officials added.

Crew includes 21 Indians

Indian Navy officials, meanwhile, said that navy ships were also moving towards the vessel.The crew includes 21 Indians and one Vietnamese.The missile strike could have been done using a drone and this angle was under investigation.

ANI later reported thatthe coast guard officials said thatDornier maritime surveillance aircraft established communication with the distressed vessel. After the drone attack, the ship switched off its Automatic Identification System which can be used for tracking the vessel. The power generation system of the ship was functional and more checks were being carried out before it set out for its destination.

Merchant ship torendezvous withICGS Vikram soon

Later on Saturday, coast guard officials saidMV Chem Pluto had started movingat a speed of around 11 nautical miles per hour and Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram is likely to rendezvous with it around 10 PM tonight. "MV Chem Pluto has also requested to be escorted by ICGS Vikram and is expected to reach Mumbai by early December 25," the officials told ANI.

(With inputs from agencies)