probe into the debris recovered from the Merchant Vessel (MV) Chem Pluto, which was struck by a missile while sailing in the Arabian Sea on its way to New Mangalore Port, points to the use of Iranian Shahed 136 loitering ammunition in the attack, according to people aware of the matter
The missile debris is being examined by Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Pune, which is likely to give a full report in a week, the people added, asking not to be named.
Based on the Russian Geran-2 expendable drone, the Shahed 136, with delta wings, has a range of 2,500km and a warhead of 50kg.
The Indian Navy has recovered what appears to be the burnt out wings of the loitering ammunition, the person cited above said.
While initially it was thought that two Iranian vessels — MV Saviz (general cargo and 100 nautical miles off the attacked ship) and MV Artenos (Bulk carrier 280 nautical miles of MV Chem Pluto) -- could be involved in firing the missile, nothing was found on these two vessels when the Indian Navy boarded them after the incident, a second person said.
The MV Chem Pluto, a chemical tanker carrying a 22-member crew of which 21 were Indians, flies under the Liberian flag. It was heading from Saudi Arabia’s Al Jubail port to New Mangalore when it was struck 217 nautical miles off India’s Gujarat coast. The ship was escorted to Mumbai by coast guard patrol vessel Vikram on Monday. A group of naval explosive experts carried out an initial assessment that confirmed a drone attack