View source for 2023 attack on the Chem Pluto

{{short description |Maritime drone strike}}
{{use dmy dates |date=December 2023}}
{{pp |small=yes}}
{{Infobox ship <!-- commercial vessels -->
|infobox_caption= <!-- keywords: yes, nodab; or caption text -->
|display_title=2023 attack on the ''Chem Pluto''<!-- keywords: none, ital; or article title with markup -->
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
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|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |name=''Chem Pluto''
 |owner=Rio Brillante
 |operator=Ace Quantum Chemical Tankers
 |registry=[[Monrovia]]
 |route=
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 |completed=2012
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 |identification={{IMO|9624770}}
 |fate=
 |status=active
 |notes=
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|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption=
 |type=[[Tanker (ship)|Chemical tanker]]
 |tonnage=* {{GT|12226}}
          * {{DWT|21323}} in summer
 |displacement=
 |length={{cvt|149|m|ftin}}
 |beam={{cvt|24|m|ftin}}
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 |crew=22
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 }}
}}
{{Campaignbox Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)}}
[[File:INS Chennai (D65) during an exercise in the Indian Ocean (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|{{INS|Chennai}} – one of the destroyers which reacted to the attack ]]
[[File:ICGS Vikram, commissioned in 2018, from Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel (2017).jpg|thumb|right|{{ship|ICGS|Vikram}} – the patrol ship which aided the tanker]]
[[File:Operators on Indian Navy's Boeing P-8I search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (2).JPG|thumb|right|Sensor operators on an Indian P-8I – the type of aircraft patrolling the area]]
On 23 December 2023, the [[tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Chem Pluto'' was struck by an [[anti-ship missile]] or [[Loitering munition|drone]] while it was carrying oil from [[Jubail]], Saudi Arabia, to [[New Mangalore Port]], India.{{r|WION}}  The strike happened at 10:00 local time (06:00 GMT) when the ship was about {{convert|200|mi}} south-west of [[Veraval]].{{r|BBC}}

==Events==
The missile hit the [[poop deck]] and penetrated the hull, causing internal damage, a fire and power failure.  There were no casualties in the mostly Indian crew of 22 who were able to control the fire, restore power and get the ship under way again.{{r|WION}}

The Indian [[Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean region|Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean region]] alerted the [[Indian Coast Guard]] who sent the patrol ship {{ship|ICGS|Vikram}} to assist and escort the tanker while the [[Indian Navy]] patrolled with a warship and [[Boeing P-8 Poseidon#India|P-8I]] maritime aircraft.{{r|WION}}

The [[United States Department of Defense]] announced that this was a direct attack by the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces|Iranian military]] but the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Iranian foreign ministry]] denied that they were responsible.{{r|BBC}}

The ship is owned by a Japanese company, Rio Brillante, and operated by Ace Quantum Chemical Tankers which is based in the Netherlands and associated with the Israeli billionaire [[Idan Ofer]].  The ship was registered in [[Monrovia]] to give it a Liberian [[flag of convenience]].{{r|FT}}

==Reaction==
The ship docked in [[Mumbai]] on Christmas Day for repairs and [[forensic investigation]].  The initial investigations were made by the Indian Navy's [[Explosive Ordinance Disposal]] team and subsequent analysis by the [[Central Forensic Science Laboratory]] in [[Pune]].  Fragments recovered from the ship indicated that the missile may have been a [[HESA Shahed 136]] drone.  Two Iranian vessels near the attack were boarded and searched by the Indian Navy – bulk carrier ''Artenos'' and general cargo ship ''Saviz'' – but no evidence of involvement was found.{{r|HT}}   

India reacted by assigning destroyers, including {{ship|INS|Chennai}}, {{ship|INS|Kochi}}, {{ship|INS|Kolkata}} and {{ship|INS|Mormugao|D67|6}}, to patrol the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean,  while [[Narendra Modi|Prime Minister Modi]] discussed the incident and Middle East issues with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, [[Mohammed bin Salman]], and the Prime Minister of Israel, [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].{{r|BBC2|HT|WION}}

==See also==
*[[Red Sea crisis]]
* [[Timeline of the Red Sea crisis]]
*[[July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident]]
*[[Operation Prosperity Guardian]]

==References==
<references>

<ref name=BBC>{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67811929 |publisher=BBC News |title=Tanker hit off India coast by drone from Iran, says US |date=24 December 2023 |author=Phelan Chatterjee |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110193109/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67811929 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name=BBC2>{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67822247 |title=India deploys three warships to Arabian Sea after attack on tanker |author=Anbarasan Ethirajan |date=26 December 2023 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101064950/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67822247 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name=FT>{{citation |title=US accuses Iran of attacking tanker in Indian Ocean |url=https://www.ft.com/content/31c19892-15f6-4155-bc67-aca076783258 |access-date=25 December 2023 |work=[[Financial Times]] |archive-date=25 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225011819/https://www.ft.com/content/31c19892-15f6-4155-bc67-aca076783258 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name=HT>{{citation |title=Initial probe points to Iran link in tanker drone strike |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=27 December 2023 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/initial-probe-points-to-iranlink-in-tanker-drone-strike-101703618695786.html |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110230122/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/initial-probe-points-to-iranlink-in-tanker-drone-strike-101703618695786.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name=WION>{{citation |url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/drone-attack-sparked-fire-total-power-failure-on-mv-chem-pluto-674802 |title=Drone attack sparked fire, total power failure on MV Chem Pluto |publisher=WIO News |date=29 December 2023 |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230061544/https://www.wionews.com/india-news/drone-attack-sparked-fire-total-power-failure-on-mv-chem-pluto-674802 |url-status=live }}</ref>

</references>

{{2023 shipwrecks}}{{Red Sea crisis|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chem Pluto, 2023}}
[[Category:Attacks in Asia in 2023]]
[[Category:December 2023 in Asia]]
[[Category:Drone strikes]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2023]]
[[Category:Military history of the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:2023 airstrikes]]
[[Category:Airstrikes in Asia]]
[[Category:Jubail]]
[[Category:History of Mangalore]]
[[Category:2023 in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:2023 in India]]
[[Category:2023 in Iran]]
[[Category:India–Iran relations]]
[[Category:India–Saudi Arabia relations]]
[[Category:Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war]]
[[Category:2020s in Gujarat]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in India]]
[[Category:History of the Indian Coast Guard]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)]]