Those responsible for the maritime accident involving the fishing vessel Oceanic and a merchant vessel off Thrissur will be tried under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as the accident took place in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country.
Moreover, the ship was flying an Indian flag and the fishing vessel was registered in Kerala.
Since the two vessels were registered in India and the accident took place in the EEZ of the country, the offence will be tried under Indian laws.
Moreover, no foreign element was involved in the incident, said V.M. Shyamkumar, a lawyer specialising in maritime law.
The flag
The flag of the vessel is considered as its nationality. The vessels are allotted the flag of the country where they are registered. She is expected to subject herself to the laws of the country, whose flag she flies. Every vessel is also considered a floating island of the country where she is registered.
The flag State is also responsible for ensuring the enforcement of rules and regulations regarding the vessel.
The mid-sea collision took place 27 nautical miles north-west of Chettuva barmouth on the early hours of Tuesday.
The criminal case following the Chettuva accident will be registered at the Fort Kochi police station, which is one of the 10 designated coastal stations of the country to try maritime offences along the Indian coast. These stations can book maritime offences that take place up to 200 nautical miles, which is EEZ of the country.
The culprits in the offence will be tried invoking Sections 280 and 304 A of the IPC.
Section 280 speaks about rash navigation of vessel. The law prescribes imprisonment up to six months or a fine of ₹1,000 or both for those “whoever navigates any vessel in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life, or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person.”
IPC Section
Section 304A, which deals with causing death by negligence, imposes imprisonment up to two years and fine for those who are convicted for causing “the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide”.
For fixing the liability arising out of the accident, the GPS locations of both the vessels will be verified. The navigational course of both the vessels will also have to be to ascertained to fix the onus of the accident, said another legal expert.
