New Delhi: A drone strike caused an explosion and fire on the merchant ship MV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea on Saturday, news agency ANI reported.

The crew, including 20 Indians, is safe, and the Indian Coast Guard vessel, ICGS Vikram, is on its way to the vessel located 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast, the report said, citing the defence officials. ICGS Vikram was patrolling the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone.

The ship was transporting crude oil from Saudi Arabia to Mangaluru.

It turned off its Automatic Identification System post-drone attack but has since restored power generation, the officials told ANI.

The Coast Guard has alerted nearby ships for assistance.

This incident follows the recent Indian Navy operation evacuating an injured sailor from the hijacked Malta-flagged cargo vessel MV Ruen in the Arabian Sea.

Coast Guard authorities said that a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft has successfully established communication with the troubled vessel.