KOLLAM: Richer by Rs 17 lakh after receiving compensation from the Italian Government towards damages for his boat, Freddy J now wants it back for fishing. He filed a petition on Thursday at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kollam, seeking release of the boat ‘St Antony’ involved in the Enrica Lexie firing incident.
Ever since the incident took place, Freddy had been lamenting that the boat will go scrap citing a belief among fishermen that no one will work on such a ‘cursed’ boat in which two persons were killed. Moreover, Freddy justified his compensation claims before mediapersons saying that the boat was in a dilapidated state and that it cannot be used for fishing.
The petition filed through Freddy’s counsel Manoj Joseph Andrews states that the seizure of boat is preventing him from eking out a living as his family depended on the income from the boat. It also points out that the boat’s condition is deteriorating as it has not been shielded from the vagaries of nature.
Asked about the irony in Freddy’s plea, Manoj Joseph Andrews said the boat was in a dilapidated state and would go scrap if not given proper maintenance now. Freddy could not be contacted for comments.
“The fishermen are usually reluctant to go fishing in a boat which has met with a tragedy. But most often it is just for a short term and things are forgotten easily in a few months’ time,” Dominic Antony, the owner of the boat which collided with the ship Prabhu Daya, told Express.
The petition will be considered on Friday.