The tragedy stemmed from sheer carelessness in handling one of the boats involved, said a senior official from the Department of Ports.
Bharat (KIV 260), the passenger boat hired by the Corporation of Kochi from Cochin Ferry Service, has a fitness certificate valid till March 2016 and was made of wood. It was drydocked for routine maintenance in May, 2015.
The exact date of its construction is not immediately known as the Kerala Inland Vessel Rules 2010 do not have retrospective application, said the official.
2010 legislation
Under the 2010 legislation, only new vessels are required to have detailed design drawings and must undergo strength-testing to get licence. Further, the rules do not make it compulsory for passengers to wear lifejackets. Attempts by boat operators in the past to get the passengers to wear lifejackets have often been met with resistance, said the official.
Basalel, the traditional fishing boat with an inboard engine that ran into the passenger boat, is made of steel, and was operated by a group of fishermen from Chellanam. There were only three fishermen in the boat as it had finished fishing operations, unloaded the catch and had taken diesel bunker when the accident took place.
The captain of the vessel has been taken into custody.
Meanwhile, a Cochin Port Trust official said that the vessel traffic in the stretch of waters outside the main shipping channel is unruly and follows no rules.
