Why in News
In what could be the crisis in the Red Sea spilling close to Indian waters, a Liberia-flagged merchant vessel, Chem Pluto, was hit by a suspected drone on Saturday just outside the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Coast Guard and the Navy swung into action to assist the vessel that suffered significant damage, though the crew were reported safe. The vessel is now heading towards Mumbai.
The ship with 21 crew members — 20 Indians and one Vietnamese national — was located around 217 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea when it was hit.
What is Chem Pluto
A chemical/oil products tanker ship.
There is a real ship named "Chem Pluto" that is currently sailing in the Persian Gulf and is expected to arrive in Mangalore, India on December 25th, 2023.
It is a Liberian-flagged vessel built in 2012 with a deadweight tonnage of 21,323.
You can see its current position and track its journey on various maritime traffic websites like MarineTraffic, VesselFinder, and ShipTracker.
What is Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
The Indian EEZ is an area of the sea off the coast of India over which India has exclusive rights to explore and use marine resources, like oil, natural gas, minerals, and fish.
It extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) beyond the territorial sea, which itself extends 12 nautical miles (22 km) from the baseline of the Indian coast.
It is the 18th largest EEZ in the world, with a total area of about 2.3 million square kilometers (890,000 sq mi).
This is roughly equivalent to the land area of France and Germany combined.
The EEZ is rich in a variety of resources, including oil, natural gas, minerals, fish, and other marine life.
It is estimated that the EEZ contains about 8% of India's proven oil reserves and 5% of its natural gas reserves.
The EEZ plays a vital role in India's economy, security, and environment.
It provides a source of food, energy, and revenue for the country.
It also helps to protect India's maritime borders and marine environment.
The EEZ is not part of India's territory, but it is under India's sovereign jurisdiction.
This means that India has the right to explore and use the resources of the EEZ, and to regulate activities within the EEZ, such as fishing and shipping.
Other countries have the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in the EEZ.
This means that ships and aircraft from other countries can pass through the EEZ without permission, as long as they do not harm the marine environment or infringe on India's sovereign rights.
India has a number of laws and regulations in place to manage the EEZ.
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