Representational picture. Reuters
A Japanese-owned chemical tanker was attacked Saturday off the coast of India by a drone “fired from Iran,” based on the Pentagon, indicating that industrial maritime threats are shifting past the Crimson Sea.
It was the primary time the Pentagon has accused Iran of actively attacking ships since Israel launched its warfare towards the Palestinian group Hamas, which is backed by Tehran.
The incident comes amid a flurry of recent drone and missile assaults on the important thing Crimson Sea delivery lane by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels because the begin of the Israel-Hamas warfare on October 7, with the group claiming to behave in sympathy with Gaza.
The incident within the Indian Ocean on Saturday occurred at 10 a.m. native time (0600 GMT) and resulted in no casualties aboard the vessel, based on a Pentagon assertion, which additionally said {that a} fireplace was doused.
The US army “remains in communication with the vessel as it continues toward a destination in India,” it added.
The drone strike occurred 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the coast of India, it mentioned, including that no US Navy vessels have been within the neighborhood.
The Pentagon assertion mentioned the MV Chem Pluto ship flew underneath a Liberian flag and was operated by a Dutch entity, though the ship is owned by a Japanese firm.
Ambrey, a maritime safety agency, mentioned the “chemical/products tanker… was Israel-affiliated” and had been on its means from Saudi Arabia to India.
The Wall Road Journal reported that the Dutch firm working the MV Chem Pluto “is connected to Israeli shipping tycoon Idan Ofer.”
The Indian navy mentioned it had responded to a request for help.
“An aircraft was dispatched and it reached overhead the vessel and established safety of the involved ship and its crew,” a navy official instructed AFP.
“An Indian navy warship has also been dispatched so as to provide assistance as required.”
There was no quick declare of accountability for the strike.
Final month, an Israeli-owned cargo ship was hit in a suspected drone assault by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps within the Indian Ocean, based on a US official.
The Malta-flagged vessel managed by an Israeli-affiliated firm was reportedly broken when the unmanned aerial car exploded near it, based on Ambrey.
US warship focused
Individually, US warship the Laboon shot down 4 assault drones “originating from Huthi-controlled areas in Yemen” on Saturday, the Pentagon’s Central Command (Centcom) mentioned in a put up on X, previously Twitter, including that no accidents or injury have been reported.
An assault drone additionally got here near a Norwegian-flagged tanker, MV Blaamanen, it mentioned, whereas one other tanker, the Indian-flagged MV Saibaba, was “hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported.”
Centcom, in the meantime, mentioned Huthi rebels fired two antiship ballistic missiles into Crimson Sea delivery lanes Saturday with “no ships reported being impacted.”
“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Huthi militants since Oct. 17,” Centcom mentioned.
The Crimson Sea assaults on delivery because the begin of the Israel-Hamas warfare have prompted main companies to reroute their cargo vessels across the southern tip of Africa, regardless of the upper gas prices of for much longer voyages.
On Saturday, an official in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned of the compelled closure of different waterways until Israel halted its warfare with Hamas.
“With the continuation of these crimes, America and its allies should expect the emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways,” Mohammad Reza Naqdi mentioned, quoted by Iran’s Tasnim information company.
Among the many waterways he talked about was the Mediterranean Sea. He didn’t elaborate.