On Tuesday, the Coast Guard tracked down the “suspicious” motor vessel, the sighting of which had raised alarms on Monday evening, the tenth anniversary of the Mumbai train blasts of 2006. The boat had been spotted off Gungwada village, near Vangaon, Dahanu, and locals had alerted the local police who had in turn notified the Coast Guard.
Commandant Sujeet Dwivedi, PRO, Coast Guard, said in a statement that a Coast Guard helicopter had traced the vessel about none kilometres off the Satpati coast. It turned out to be a tug boat, Ocean Ferrari , in trouble because of the rough monsoon seas. The four-member crew were rescued by the Coast Guard.
The tug had sailed on July 10 from Hazira, in Surat, bound for Mumbai port; it had been staying close to the coast because of the rough weather. “The tug boat should not have ventured into the high seas,” said Comdt. Dwivedi, explaining that its speed was not enough to battle rough seas. He said that the tug boat had ventured into the sea due to commercial compulsions. No case has been registered against the boat’s crew or its owners.
The Hindu had reported the story on July 12.
The writer is a freelancer
