Merchant vessel Chem Pluto reaches Mumbai 2 days after drone attack

The Indian Navy's explosive ordnance disposal team on Monday carried out a detailed inspection of merchant vessel Chem Pluto on its arrival in Mumbai, two days after it was hit by a drone off India's west coast in the Arabian Sea.

An analysis of the area of attack and debris found on the ship pointed toward a drone attack, and further forensic and technical analyses will be required to ascertain all the details, Navy officials said.

The commercial vessel, with 21 Indian crew members, was reportedly struck by a drone about 217 nautical miles from Porbandar on Saturday, following which both the Indian Navy and Coast Guard deployed a number of assets to provide assistance to the ship.

In view of the spate of recent attacks on commercial vessels, the Navy deployed warships INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata to maintain a deterrent presence in the region, the officials said.

Long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft P8Is are also being regularly tasked to maintain domain awareness, they said.