Drone attacks: The merchant ship that carried out the drone attacks ( attack) in the Arabian Sea has reached Mumbai, where the Anti-Explosive Ordnance Team of the Indian Navy tested it. Many pictures of this ship are also going viral on social platforms, in which parts of the ship are seen damaged. Navy officials said analysis of the attack site and debris found on the ship indicated a drone strike and further forensic and technical analysis would be required to ascertain all the details. A drone attack was carried out on a commercial ship carrying 21 Indian crew members about 217 nautical miles off Porbandar, following which the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard deployed several ships to provide assistance to the ship.
Officials said that in view of the recent attacks on commercial ships, the Navy had deployed warships INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata to maintain its deterrent presence in the area. He said that long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft P8I was also deployed.
Earlier, the US Central Command had said that an Indian-flagged oil tanker was one of the two ships hit by drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the southern Red Sea. On 23 December, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea.
Between 3 pm and 8 pm local time, USS Laboon (DDG 58) was patrolling in the southern Red Sea and shot down four drones coming from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. USS Laboon was the target of these drones. According to him, at around 8 pm local time, the US Naval Forces Central Command received reports from two ships in the southern Red Sea that they had been attacked.
The Norwegian-flagged oil tanker ‘M/V Blamanen’ had reported being targeted by Houthi rebels’ drones. After this, another Indian flagged oil tanker ‘M/V Saibaba’ also reported drone attack on it.