KOCHI: On Tuesday, the Dornier aircraft of the Navy had spotted some debris of the fishing vessel which was later picked up by a Coast Guard boat. Indian naval ship Jamuna and three Coast guard vessels — Vikram, Savitribai Phule, Abhinav — and an interceptor boat were involved in the rescue operation. On Wednesday evening, Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma visited Munambam harbour and reviewed the rescue operations’ progress.
MMD officials blamed the fishing boats for crossing the shipping lanes without proper communication and risking their lives. “The visibility will be very low during night and it’ll be difficult for the ship captain to spot the boats on its path. Besides, many fishing boats lack navigation light and side lights making it difficult to spot the vessels,” said an MMD officer.
“Fishermen take rest at sea. If the boats don’t have signal lights, it’ll be tough for ships to spot them. There’re around 5,000 fishing boats operating from Kochi and it is for them to watch out for ships while crossing the shipping lane. If the boats have transponders, it’ll be easy for ships to locate them,” said Kunjali Marakkar School of Marine Engineering director K A Simon.