On December 25, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry affirmed that the US accusation that Tehran attacked the Chem Pluto oil tanker was "baseless".
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| An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacked the Liberian-flagged Chem Pluto in the Indian Ocean. (Source: Arab News) |
The Wall Street Journal quoted a Pentagon spokesman as saying that the Chem Pluto, a Liberian-flagged chemical tanker owned by Japan and operated by the Netherlands, was attacked at around 10:00 a.m. (local time) on December 23 in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles off the coast of India, by a drone from Iran.
According to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the MV Chem Pluto, carrying 20 Indian sailors and 1 Vietnamese sailor, was attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and caught fire while en route to India on December 23. However, the fire was extinguished shortly after. The ship and its sailors are now safe.
The Indian Navy has launched an investigation into the drone launch, local officials said. The Indian warship INS Mormugao approached the cargo ship MV Chem Pluto and ascertained some details of the attack. The ICG ship ICG Vikram is escorting the MV Chem Pluto and both ships are expected to dock in Mumbai on December 25.
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