Coast Guard seize Sri Lankan vessel for trespass, crew arrested

Reported by Vishwanath Kumar
Kendrapara, Apr 30:

The Paradip Coast Guard in Odisha today intercepted a foreign vessel carrying five Sri Lankan fishermen during coastal security patrolling .

The vessel, which violated international maritime law, was seized and its crew members were booked for infringing countrythe marine boundary.

Deputy Commandant (operation), Paradip Coast Guard, J. V. Paul said the Lankan vessel was intercepted about 169 nautical miles off Paradip coast.

The arrested crew members are all fishermen from the Island nation.

They infiltrated into the prohibited coastal territory and it was an offence under maritime zone of India act, said Coast Guard officials.

It’s pertinent to note here that on 4 April, the Coast Guard personnel had intercepted a Sri Lankan vessel and taken into custody 4 of its crew members. However the crew along with the vessel were released later, following intervention of Ministry of External Affairs.

The Coast Guard patrol ship- Vajra- while on coastal security drill spotted the trespassing foreign vessel. The state-of-the-art ship swiftly intercepted the Sri Lankan motorized sea-worthy vessel ‘IMUL-A-0693’ about 169 nautical miles off the Paradip coast, sources said.

The vessel was fitted with medium-size radar, global positioning system (GPS) and communication gadgets for long range communication.

The boat was spotted fishing in Indian coastal waters of Bay of Bengal, close to the sea border of Bangladesh, said Deputy Commandant (Operation), Paradip Coast Guard, J. V. Paul.

Later they were handed over to Paradip Marine Police personnel, sources added.