Coast Guard refutes claims that fishermen were armed
The Coast Guard on Friday said Italian tanker Enrica Lexie, which is detained at Kochi harbour pending investigation into the killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian marines on board, had committed a mistake.
“Firing on unarmed fishermen is incorrect…They were in India's Exclusive Economic Zone,” Inspector General S.P.S. Basra, Coast Guard Regional Commander (West), told the media here. Asked if the merchant ship, bound for Egypt from Singapore, had followed the stipulated rules of engagement of pirates before resorting to firing, he said: “They erred in their judgment.”
Mr. Basra also took strong exception to the crew's contention that the fishermen were armed.
Captained by Umberto Vitelli, Enrica Lexie has a crew of 24 of whom 19 are Indians. Besides, it carries six Italian Marines onboard for security.
Responding to a query on piracy in the Indian Ocean, Mr. Basra said: “Our waters are not piracy-infested. There had been instances of piracy over the last two years, but after the Navy and the Coast Guard intensified patrolling, there has not been a single incident [in the recent past]…Piracy-infested waters are off Somalia, not 20 miles from the Indian coast.”
The Coast Guard Regional Commander added that the agency frequently asked the International Maritime Bureau to intimate merchant vessels passing through the Indian Ocean to alert the Mumbai-based Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) if they came across any suspicious activity.
Mr. Basra said the Coast Guard had employed an ingenious ‘tactic' to divert the ship to Kochi. Alerted on a firing incident at sea by the police, the Coast Guard scrambled aerial and surface assets to look out for the vessel in question.
“We were still in the dark about the type of vessel that opened fire at the fishermen. However, the MRCC did a commendable job by picking up [from numerous blips on the radar] four ships within a radius of 40 to 60 nautical miles from the spot where the incident was reported to have occurred.”
As no merchant vessel had reported a pirate attack, the Coast Guard radioed these four ships, asking if they had been involved in a piracy incident. Only Enrica Lexie responded positively.
“Generally when something of this sort happens, merchant ships immediately alert the MRCC, which is the piracy reporting centre in the region. In this case, however, we did not receive any such report. They should have reported it. We got the information from them about two-and-a-half hours later…Once they confirmed their involvement in a ‘piracy incident,' we asked them to come to Kochi,” Mr. Basra said.
Keywords: Italian tanker Enrica Lexie, fishermen killing
My goodness, there is some very tortured English in these comments. If you speak like you
write there must be some very confusing conversations happening.
Even the presumption of the killing of innocent lives of fishermen triggered by an error of judgement warrants slapping a grim message to the offenders who are out to goof up things.That the unjustified shooting was witnessed in Indian waters mirrors up how the hapless fishermen are susceptible to foreign vessels. The captain and the crew responsible for the murder need to face the laws of the land.
Hundreds of Indians being killed ? Will the authorities, Government will
take similar action, towards incidents taking place in Eastern Coast of
India,
The Italians' version of events is entirely plausible, and no less to be trusted by people whose minds have not been stultified by jingoistic bias. The Italians offer a very different story, which is scarcely hinted at even by the genreally reasonable The Hindu. There is no possibility that these Italians can get a fair trial. The authorities have nothing to lose and everything to gain by pandering to the anti-foreign prejudice of the electorate, which in this regard is uniquely unanimous. These Italians will never again see the light of the Italian sun. The trial is already over.
I do not understand what Capt.Venkatraman tried to prove.The news item
mentioned vessel detained at Kochi port but the heading of the photo
wrongly mentioned vessel anchored.As a Captain of the vessel
Capt.Venkatraman knew very well the Italian vessel captain made a
blunder and he did not follow the laid down procedures when
confronting a suspected pirate boat.Media are not hyping this
incident.If the same thing happened in European waters under an Indian
captain command what might have happened to him.
When Kasab, a terrorist who killed so many innocent civilians before CCTV is still alive, what will happen to Italian captain? Nothing is going to come out of this. Italians will be escorted back to Italy soon.
The law should take its course. The guilty should be reprimanded and sentences handed over as per international law.
Only the territorial waters are under India's legal jurisdiction. Which is 12 nautical miles from shore. Exclusive economic zone is still international waters. And the UN law of the sea allows free unhindered passage to all vessels, while economic assets belong to India up to 300 KM from shore.
Unpardonable mistake of the Captain ! He is bound by matitime piracy protocol and obviously when there was no counter firing after firing shots in the air,the Captain should have stopped the marines from firing.Will 5 Lakhs be enough for the poor families of the fishermen??
Let the law take its course...for a decade. Arrest the marines and the master, forget any diplomacy Mr.S.M.Krishna. Keep the vessel arrested till the owners come for a settlement after a decision by the courts.
It looks to me that the Itallians have clearlly violated the Maritime Law. If the Coast Guard did not radio them than by this time they might have been in another country. The fishing boat is smaller than a Ship.Inorder to over power the ship the fisherman may need heavy fire power and back up as well. The fishermen were unarmed. Firing at unarmed people and killing them is a serious crime. further trying to steer away with out informing the Indian Authority is another grave mistake they committed.
If Indian fishermen were not safe in fishing in Indian water, where else they can fish. The Itallians should be given atleast life sentence and they should compensate the loss of life as well.
India Should deliver just justice to the killed Fishermen and their family.
We condemn the killing of our poor compatriots who ventured for their livelihood activity in our own sea limits by other country's private army. This is very unfortunate actions made by the Italian Ship crew. The captain of the ship is be arrested immediately and prosecuted to his mistake. There would advanced magnifying glasses available onboard Elexia who can easily check whether the duo fishermen were in possession of arms or not. Also, before firing the private guards onboard along with Ship's Captain would have ensured whether the fishermen were pirates or not by the latter's actions/motive-intentions. Also, we need to deliberate this matter with Italy ensuing them to take the responsibility of our poor fellowmen. The detaining of the erred ship with mere clues in hand our Coast Guard & MRCC officers is to be applauded. We wish these kinds of incidences would not repeat again. We pay our condolences to the bereft family who lost their breadwinners. Govt. should support them.
With due respects and regards to hindu for presenting the news in the most simplest manner, salutations. but still. i have some valid points to share, i have been commanding supertankers for nearly 6 years , and still am,,many a time transitted piracy waters and indian south west coast on voyages from persian gulf to far east..please send your reporter across, i can fursnish him with useful photos and some news,, my mobile number 9840489530, land line 2814 1352 chennai. my only prayers that media does not hype! your photograph of vessel clearly shows she is in a oil terminal at kochi, and what is written that she
is anchored...this is a proof indeed .
It is a serious matter and it seems authorities are dooing well to investigate the matter thanks to MRCC and coast guard.
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