Four batches of surveyors are investigating as many ships in locations spread as far apart as Mumbai, New Mangalore, and Malaysia to confirm the identity of the merchant vessel that rammed fishing boat Oceanic off Munambam early August 7.
Three fishermen were killed in the collision and nine are still missing.
“These were the four ships in the vicinity of the fishing boat at the time of the accident. So, we have sent Mercantile Marine Department officials to examine each. While the crude tanker Desh Shakti owned by the State-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is berthed in New Mangalore, two other vessels are in Mumbai. A Liberian-flagged vessel in Malaysia is being investigated by Liberian officials,” Malini V. Shankar, Director General of Shipping, told The Hindu over the phone.
Dr. Shanker on Friday convened a meeting of Fisheries Secretaries of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to review the measures being undertaken by both States to prevent mid-sea collisions involving fishing boats in future.
“These are the two States bearing the brunt of such accidents as the busiest international shipping route lies close to their coasts. Fishing activity is also frenetic in the area,” she said.
A joint secretary of the Union Ministry of Agriculture, under which functions the Department of Fisheries, also took part in the meeting.
Preventive solutions
“We cannot allow further loss of lives at sea and therefore wanted to empower the States to arrive at preventive solutions. We have a protocol for the fishing vessels and best practices for merchant ships. The Union Ministry of Agriculture also has a guideline for fishers. Now, it is up to the States to modify their local marine rules, ensuring that there is life-saving gear on board and that the boats follow the guidelines and put on lights on the vessel and on the nets at night. Fishermen safety, equipping them with communication tools, and tracking of the vessels in case of an eventuality are the focus areas,” Dr. Shankar said.
She said the States would seek the help of ISRO and see if it would be possible to provide two-way communication equipment to the fishers. There would be possibly collaboration with the public sector BSNL for satellite communication facility for the purpose.
All possible options would be explored to see if some functional electronic equipment could be provided to the fishers, something that’s easy to handle, to track them when in distress, Dr. Shankar said.
“Most of the recent collisions happened between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. So, we need to find out a way to alert the fishers and keep them awake in that hour while at sea. There are cases of labourers from non-coastal States working on fishing boats. Some of them do not even swim. We are also seeing if some kind of orientation training can be given to them,” she said.
