CHENNAI: The Indian Coast Guard has apprehended five individuals who allegedly boarded an offshore support vessel with the suspected intent to rob, in a maritime security breach that occurred just off the Kakinada coast in Andhra Pradesh.
According to officials, the intrusion took place late evening on June 19 when a group of five aboard a fishing boat approached the offshore support vessel MV GH Pathfinder.
The vessel was anchored approximately 2.5 nautical miles from the Vakalapudi Lighthouse, operating in waters routinely trafficked by commercial support ships servicing the oil and gas sector in the Bay of Bengal.
Crew aboard the MV GH Pathfinder alerted authorities after the men were spotted unlawfully boarding the ship. The distress message was received by the Indian Coast Guard Station at Kakinada, which immediately diverted its fast interceptor craft, ICGS C-438, from routine patrol duties,16 nautical miles off the port.
The suspects reportedly attempted to flee as the Coast Guard vessel closed in, but were intercepted at sea after a brief pursuit.
The Coast Guard’s boarding team detained all five men and recovered their fishing boat. No injuries or damage to the vessel were reported.
The detainees were later handed over to local law enforcement at the Port Police Station in Kakinada for investigation, a Coast Guard release said.