The Indian Navy has deployed guided-missile destroyers in the Arabian Sea following an attack on an Israeli-linked chemical tanker off its coast, the defence ministry said.
Three destroyers with stealth guided missiles were deployed “in various areas of the sea” to “maintain a deterrent presence” in view of the “recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea”, the ministry said in a statement issued late Monday night. It also deployed long-range maritime patrol aircraft to provide “domain awareness”.
The United States said the strike on the MV Chem Pluto vessel in the Indian Ocean on 23 December was “from Iran”, a charge Tehran has rejected as baseless. The drone strike came amid a series of drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on the Red Sea shipping lane in solidarity with Gaza where Israel and Hamas have been warring since October 7.
The attack came as the US-led task force sought to counter similar threats to maritime traffic in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The Indian Navy said it was investigating the nature of the attack on the MV Chem Puto vessel, which “safely anchored” in the financial capital, Mumbai, on Monday.
The initial assessment “points to a drone attack”, the ministry said. But “further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of the attack, including the type and quantity of explosive used.” The ministry said the vessel had been “cleared for further operation” by its company.
