Amid a series of attacks on merchant vessels, the Indian Navy chief, on Sunday, directed officials to enhance security in the sea route, especially the Arabian Sea and asked the forces to keep a close lookout for any suspicious activity in the region.
According to the news agency ANI, Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar has asked to keep a close lookout for any suspicious activity in the region, which has seen incidents of attacks on merchant vessels recently, especially following the Israel-Hamas war.
"The piracy incident on MV Ruen approximately 700 nautical miles from the Indian coast and recent drone attack on MV Chem Pluto, approximately 220 nautical miles South-West of Porbandar indicates a shift in maritime incidents closer to Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)," a Navy official said.
"Task Groups comprising destroyers and frigates have been deployed to undertake maritime security operations and render assistance to merchant vessels in case of any incident. Aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft and RPAs has been enhanced to have complete maritime domain awareness. Towards effective surveillance of EEZ, the Indian Navy is operating in close coordination with the Indian Coast Guard," he added.
"The overall situation is being closely monitored by the Indian Navy in coordination with national maritime agencies. The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region," he said further.
Drone attacks on vessel
Notably, the latest development came nearly a week after MV Chem Pluto, a Liberian flag chemical, carrying 21 Indians and one Vietnamese crew member, suffered a serious "drone attack" on December 23. However, the vessel was later escorted by Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram to the Mumbai coast.
The Indian Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team inspected the vessel to make a preliminary assessment of the type and nature of the attack. The analysis of the area of attack and debris found on the ship hinted towards a drone attack but further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used. " There were also reports of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
