KOCHI: The captain of MV Amber L, the Panama-registered cargo vessel which rammed a fishing boat off Kochi coast earlier last month, did not switch off the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) in a deliberate attempt to destroy crucial evidence.
It is unbelievable the captain, who has 30 years of experience in vessel navigation, does not know the procedure to switch off VDR immediately after the incident, the police said.
The remand report, a copy of which is in possession of Express, stated the captain of the ship and two other crew members were mainly responsible for the mishap. The Coastal Police had arrested Capt Georgianakis Ioannis, 30, of Greece; Second Mate officer Galanos Athanasios, 33, of Greece; and Able Sea Man-Zewana, 36, of Myanmar, on Friday. They were produced in the court on Saturday and remanded in judicial custody.
They were booked for the offence under section 280 (Rash navigation of vessel), 427 (Committing mischief), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 304 (Causing death by negligence), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of IPC and 57 of the Kerala Police Act. The police submitted before the court the incident occurred at 14 nautical miles (NM) from the shore.
According to experts, VDR contains critical data, including date and time, the ship’s position, speed, heading, important alarms, rudder orders and response, engine orders and response, radar information, water tight and fire door status, fire alarms and wind speed and direction.
In the remand report, Coastal Police Circle Inspector T M Varghese said if the data was available in VDR, the agency could review the procedures in the ship just before the incident and help identify the cause of the accident.
The guidelines of the International Maritime Organisation stipulates VDR should be switched off soon after any accident. “The Mercantile Marine Department had seized the VDR of the vessel and sent it for scientific examination,” Varghese said. The ship was controlled by Able Seaman-Zewana under the direction of the captain and the supervisory charge was given to second officer Athanasios Galanos.
The report said they were arrested after completing formalities, including handing over the charge of captain to another officer.
The report stated the fishing boat was anchored in a proper manner with lights, horn, Aldis light, binoculars and VHF sets at 14 NM from the shore. There were several other fishing boats nearby. The boat was easily visible through the two radars of the ship. However, the rash and negligent navigation of the ship led to the mishap.
The Coast Guard had informed the ship master regarding the incident through very high frequency (VHF) at 9 am on June 11. But, the master was reluctant to switch off the VDR.
After examining the AIS data and the screenshot given by the DG(S)COMM Centre, it was revealed there was unusual deviation in the navigation path of the ship at the time of the incident. The position of the ship was very near to the fishing boat at that time. Armstrong Britto, who was on the fishing boat, had identified the ship and saw the letters AMEL inscribed in the back portion of the ship, the report stated.