India vows to find merchant ship attackers

NEW DELHI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- India's defense minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday said the Indian government has taken the recent drone attacks on commercial ships in the Arabian Sea very seriously and will find the culprits.

"The Government of India has taken the recent drone attack on M V Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea and the attack on M V Sai Baba in the Red Sea a few days ago very seriously. Indian Navy has increased surveillance of the sea. Whoever has carried out this attack, we will find them even from the depths of the sea and strict action will be taken against them."

On Saturday a drone attack hit the ship M V Chem Pluto off India's coast in the Arabian Sea, which reportedly caused an explosion and fire on the merchant ship, but no casualties.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

M V Chem Pluto, the Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker with 21 crew, including a Vietnamese national, reached Mumbai on Monday. On its arrival, the Indian Navy's explosive ordnance disposal team carried out a detailed inspection of the merchant vessel.