The Pentagon said the Chem Pluto ship flew under the Liberian flag and was operated by a Dutch company.
Washington:
A chemical tanker struck off the coast of India on Saturday was targeted by a “one-way attack drone launched from Iran,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The attack took place around 10 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), it said, adding that there were no casualties on the Japanese-owned vessel and that the fire had been extinguished.
It added that the US military “remains in contact with the vessel as it continues towards its destination in India”.
The Pentagon statement said the Chem Pluto ship was Liberian-flagged and operated by a Dutch company.
The drone strike took place 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off India's coast, and no US Navy ships were nearby, it said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike, which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a key shipping lane in the Red Sea.
The Houthis say they are carrying out attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Indian Navy said it responded to the request for assistance.
“An aircraft was dispatched, which went overboard and established the safety of the vessel involved and its crew,” a naval official told AFP.
An Indian Navy warship has also been dispatched to provide necessary assistance.
(Other than the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)
