11 fishermen missing after ship rams mechanised boat

They were fishing 630 nautical miles off Goa coast

Eleven fishermen from Vallavilai in western Kanniyakumari district, who had ventured into the sea in a mechanized boat for multi-day deep-sea stay fishing, went missing after a ship reportedly rammed their boat when they were fishing 630 nautical miles off Goa coast on Saturday.

The missing fishermen have been identified as L. John, P. Suresh, J. Jebish, L. Vijish, L. Jeniston, R. Cedrick, S. Fredy, J. Jegan, P. Jesudasan, C. Joseph Franklin, owner of the boat, and M. Marbin, all from Vallavilai.

The mishap apparently occurred after a ship rammed the mechanised boat. In a similar offshore accident, two fishermen from Colachel were killed on April 13 when they were fishing along with 12 other fishermen. Only two of the 14 fishermen were rescued by the ship that was involved in the collision.

Vallavilai villagers said the families of the missing fishermen received a phone call from the fishermen of mechanised boat ‘Periyanayagi’, also from Vallavilai, around 1 p.m. on Saturday to inform them that fishing boat ‘Mercedes’ was found capsized in the high-seas. After they alerted the fishermen in the zone about the mishap, search operation was launched instantly to rescue the missing fishermen of ‘Mercedes’.

“The boat had gone for multi-day stay fishing from Thengaaipattinam fishing harbour on April 6 with 11 fishermen, all from Vallavilai,” said Sunil Sabariyar of Vallavilai.

Usually, the fishermen going for multi-day stay fishing would return to their base after 25 to 40 days after wrapping up their fishing operations beyond 600 nautical miles.

“In this case, the fishing boat has been rammed by a merchant navy vessel, apparently proceeding towards VOC Port, Thoothukudi, as per the information provided by our fishermen on high-seas now,” Mr. Sunil said.

The fishermen of mechanised boat ‘Periyanayagi’ noticed the wreck of ‘Mercedes’ and its fiberglass country boat, which is usually used to surround the shoals of tuna while fishing, on the high-seas and informed their families.

The villagers also said the fishermen of ‘Mercedes’ had spoken to their families and the nearby boats on Friday evening via satellite phone and hence the mishap could have taken place either on Saturday night or early morning, Vallavilai villagers suspect.

Officials of Department of Fisheries had been informed about the tragedy, the villagers said.