KOCHI: Two fishermen suffered injuries as a cargo ship rammed a fishing boat 47 km off Kochi coast around 4.20 am on Thursday. The ship sped away without caring for the fishermen in the boat which was partially damaged in the collision. The Mercantile Marine Department has identified the ship to be a Palau-flagged vessel, which was on its way to Alang in Gujarat for scrapping. Previously named, Maharshi Bharadwaj when it was Indian-flagged, the ship has been asked to dock at the nearest port, most likely Kandla and subject itself to investigation by security agencies, said MMD sources.
The 10 fishermen in the fishing boat named Noha were sleeping after a night-long work. The rope of the boat’s anchor got entangled with the ship and got dragged away to some distance. Two fishermen - P S Asokan a resident of Thattapally at Paravoor and Josey of Puthussery at Munambam, sustained injuries in the accident and were admitted to Ayyampilly Government Hospital.
According to the Coast Guard, the incident occurred around 19 nautical miles off Kochi coast.
The fishermen had noted down the IMO number of the ship, which proved helpful in identifying the vessel.
“The fishermen had anchored their vessel and were sleeping when the ship rammed the boat. The rope of the anchor got entangled with the ship and the vessel got dragged away to some distance. We have informed the Coast Guard and DG Shipping about the incident. The coastal police have registered a case and we have initiated steps to take legal action against the ship,” said Fisheries Deputy Director S Mahesh.