Porbandar:A merchant ship that caught fire due to a suspected drone attack on Saturday, is now heading towards Mumbai, Indian Coast Guard officials said. There are around 20 Indian and one Vietnamese crew members in the vessel.
The Indian Coast Guard's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai received information regarding fire onboard MV Chem Pluto. The MRCC established real-time communication with the vessel’s agent and assured of all assistance. All the crew members have been reported to be safe.
It was learnt that the crew members successfully doused the fire. For augmenting the vessel's safety, MRCC has activated the ISN and immediately diverted other merchant vessels towards Chem Pluto for rendering assistance.
According to Commandant Niranjan Pratap Singh, PRO, Indian Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft has been pressed into action for rendering assistance to Chem Pluto. The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft has sanitised the area and established communication with Chem Pluto. The vessel is likely to enter Mumbai and has sought escort assistance due to steering issues, Singh said.
Taking to X handle, Indian Coast Guard informed that the vessel has started making way towards Mumbai after undertaking damage assessment and repairs on its power generation systems. The vessel is likely to enter Mumbai and sought escort assistance due to steering issues.
Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram will be escorting the vessel during its passage and the entire process is being closely monitored by the Operations Centre, the tweet read. The distressed merchant vessel reportedly commenced its voyage from Saudi Arabia on December 19 and was bound for New Mangalore port with the scheduled arrival on December 25.
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