The Indian Coast Guard on Wednesday apprehended a Pakistani fishing boat along the Gujarat coast and arrested 14 fishermen of the neighbouring nation, an official press release said.
Meena Behn, a frontline ship of ICG North West Region based at Okha in the coastal Jamnagar district, apprehended a Pakistani fishing boat ‘Gulsamal’ for illegally entering Indian waters at 34 nautical miles west off Mitha Port.
Upon being spotted by the ICG, the crew members on ‘Gulsamal’ removed its nets and tried to flee. The ICG ship had to fire five warning shots in the air to stop the fishing boat.
“After pursuing the boat for a distance of six nautical miles, the Coast Guard boarding party boarded the vessel and carried out thorough investigation. Thereafter, they arrested 14 crew including master, all of Pakistan nationality, for violation of Maritime Zones of India Act 1981,” the Defence press note said.
Further investigations will be carried out at Okha by various agencies for coastal security, namely ICG, Indian Navy, Customs, Marine Police, Central Intelligence Bureau, Special Intelligence Branch and port authority, to rule out any security breach.
“Over a past few days, a large number of Indian fishing boats have been apprehended by Pakistan. Analyzing the trend, the ICG has intensified patrolling on International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) shared with Pakistan. Earlier this month, ICGS Vijit had apprehended one Pakistan fishing boat ‘Alrahimoo’ in the same area,” the authorities said.
