On 23 December 2023, the tanker ''Chem Pluto'' was struck by an

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...

drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...

while it was carrying oil from

Jubail Jubail (, ''Al Jubayl'') is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 474,679 as of 2022. It is home to one of the largest industrial cities in the world. It is also home to the Middle ...

, Saudi Arabia, to

New Mangalore Port New Mangalore Port or New Mangalore Port Trust(NMPT) is an all-weather port at Panambur, Mangalore in Karnataka state in India. The total land area of the port is approximately . The New Mangalore Port is the deepest inner harbour on the wes ...

, India. The strike happened at 10:00 local time (06:00 GMT) when the ship was about south-west of

Veraval Somnath, also known as Veraval, is a city and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Somnath temple, a place of pilgrimage due to its importance as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga si ...

Events

The missile hit the

poop deck In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, , from Latin . Thus the poop deck is technic ...

and penetrated the hull, causing internal damage, a fire and power failure. There were no casualties in the mostly Indian crew of 22 who were able to control the fire, restore power and get the ship under way again. The Indian Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean region alerted the

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and Exclusive economic zone of India, exclusive economic zone. It was st ...

who sent the patrol ship to assist and escort the tanker while the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

patrolled with a warship and P-8I maritime aircraft. The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

announced that this was a direct attack by the

Iranian military The Iranian Armed Forces, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepah'') and the Poli ...

but the

Iranian foreign ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs () is an Iranian government ministry headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is a member of cabinet. The office is currently held by Abbas Araghchi after the death of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Foreign poli ...

denied that they were responsible. The ship is owned by a Japanese company, Rio Brillante, and operated by Ace Quantum Chemical Tankers which is based in the Netherlands and associated with the Israeli billionaire

Idan Ofer Idan Ofer (; born 2 October 1955) is an Israeli billionaire businessman and philanthropist, with interests in shipping, energy, mining and sports. He is the founder of the principal of the Quantum Pacific Group, a holding company. He is majority ...

. The ship was registered in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

to give it a Liberian

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) refers to a business practice whereby a ship's owners Ship registration, register a Merchant vessel, merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ens ...

Reaction

The ship docked in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

on Christmas Day for repairs and

forensic investigation Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

. The initial investigations were made by the Indian Navy's

Explosive Ordinance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

team and subsequent analysis by the

Central Forensic Science Laboratory The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) is a wing of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, which fulfills the forensic requirements in the country. The locations There are seven central forensic laboratories in India, at Hyderabad, Kol ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. Fragments recovered from the ship indicated that the missile may have been a

HESA Shahed 136 The HESA Shahed 136 (, ), also known by its Russian designation Geran-2 (, ), is an Iranian-designed loitering munition, also referred to as a kamikaze drone or suicide drone, in the form of an autonomous pusher-propelled drone. It is design ...

drone. Two Iranian vessels near the attack were boarded and searched by the Indian Navy – bulk carrier ''Artenos'' and general cargo ship ''Saviz'' – but no evidence of involvement was found. India reacted by assigning destroyers, including , , and , to patrol the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean, while

Prime Minister Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the member of parliament (MP) for Varanas ...

discussed the incident and Middle East issues with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia,

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

, and the Prime Minister of Israel,

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chem Pluto, 2023 Attacks in Asia in 2023 December 2023 in Asia Drone strikes Maritime incidents in 2023 Military history of the Indian Ocean 2023 airstrikes Airstrikes in Asia Jubail History of Mangalore 2023 in Saudi Arabia 2023 in India 2023 in Iran India–Iran relations India–Saudi Arabia relations Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict 2020s in Gujarat Maritime incidents in India History of the Indian Coast Guard Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)

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See also

References