The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard vessels have established communication with the distressed merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat which caught fire after a suspected drone attack on Saturday, defence sources said.

Reuters, however, in its report identified the ship as “an Israeli-affiliated” vessel. It said the incident follows drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting Palestinians under siege in the Gaza Strip, on commercial shipping forcing shippers to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa.

Quoting sources, the news agency ANI said MV Chem Pluto, a Liberia-flagged oil tanker, was carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia and it had 20 Indians on board and all crew members were reported to be safe. It was headed for Mangalore when it was struck by a drone in the Arabian Sea, 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast.

Till late Saturday night, neither the Indian Navy nor the Indian Coast Guard have issued any official statement.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it has received a report of an attack on a ship by a drone in the South-West vicinity of Veraval in Gujarat that resulted in an explosion and subsequent fire on the vessel.

The incident comes days after the Indian Navy evacuated a sailor from a Malta-flagged cargo ship hijacked by six “pirates”. According to reports, the pirates had illegally boarded the ship, the MV Ruen, in the Arabian Sea.

Sources said the vessel MV Chem Pluto had crude oil and was moving towards Mangalore from a port in Saudi Arabia when it was struck by a drone. The fire has been reportedly extinguished but has affected the functioning of the vessel. According to ANI, after the drone attack, the ship switched off its automatic identification system which can be used for tracking the vessel. The power generation system of the ship is now functional and more checks are being carried out before it sets out for its destination.