An Iranian kamikaze drone has attacked the MV Chem Pluto ship heading towards Mangaluru. The attack occurred on December 23 when the ship was 210 nautical miles away from Dwarka, 500 nautical miles from the Iranian coast and 860 nautical miles from the Yemen coast. The Pentagon claims that this is the seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021. This incident is an inauspicious sign regarding maritime security in the Arabian Sea region. Tehran has now started firing even on those ships which have no direct connection with the targeted ship.
MV Chem Pluto was flying the flag of Liberia. It is a Japanese-owned and Netherlands-operated tanker with a large Indian crew. The ship was outside the disputed Red Sea and Gulf of Aden areas at the time of the attack. It is known that Iran has a missile-firing Shahed drone with a range of 1350 nautical miles.
However, it is important to examine the role of the Iranian dhow MV Saviz, which was 47 nautical miles from the attacked ship. The carrier MV Chem was 230 nautical miles from Pluto. Only investigation will reveal whether these two ships were somehow involved in targeting the Mangaluru-bound oil tanker.
Many Serious Questions Regarding Maritime Security
The fire on MV Chem Pluto due to a drone attack is now under control. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard are assisting the ship’s crew. This attack has raised many serious questions regarding maritime security. Iran and its proxies and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have caused huge damage to marine security by targeting commercial shipping.
Security concerns have increased from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, the Persian Gulf and the coast of India. The cost of commercial shipping through the Red Sea may now increase as most ships will take the Cape of Good Hope route to reach the West.
Experts say that Iran wants to create severe instability in the region. With this, it is also harming the economic interests of Sunni states like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and UAE. The attack on MV Chem Pluto shows how far Iran will go to threaten the Middle East region. Houthi rebels are also attacking ships in protest against the Israel-Hamas war. Houthi rebels say that they will continue to target vessels belonging to Israel. The attack from Iran indicates that the situation will be dire.
