THOOTHUKUDI: Five recent boat disasters including two deaths off the Tharuvaikulam fishing harbour in Thoothukudi have raised concerns about the fitness of vessels and the non-availability of insurance schemes for vessels lost at sea.
Mechanised gill-net fishing vessels go for multi-day deep-sea fishing and they predominantly catch tunas, while the country boat fishermen catch murrells.
Sources say a gill netter mechanised fishing vessel of a fisher Pavul sank in the sea on July 8 after being hit by a bottom trawl 20 nautical miles (NM) off the Tharuvaikulam shore, while another mechanised vessel of Jeyasingh sank near the shore on July 18 due to exterior damage.
Also, another vessel owned by Sundar sank following a fire following a cylinder burst, 100 NM off the coast on July 25. A country craft drowned after water gushed into it near Punnakayal on August 1. Meanwhile, a boat tragedy at the Tharuvaikulam coast on July 26 left two minors dead, added sources.
Fishermen said that there was no warning about the gusts along the Gulf of Mannar. One of the aggrieved vessel owners, whose vessel sank near the Thoothukudi fishing harbour, told TNIE that the district administration and fisheries department did not take any step to retrieve the vessel that was worth more than `40 lakh and had fishnets worth `20 lakh.
“The vessel was new and began fishing just six months ago. Had the fisheries officials taken steps with barges and cranes, the vessel could have been lifted from the waters,” he said, adding he spent nearly `4 lakh for retrieving the sunken boat, but it was totally damaged and the fish net could not be extricated.
Stating that the vessel is their livelihood, the owners said that the state government must consider providing compensation for fishing vessels that sink in sea. There is no accident insurance scheme for the ill-fated vessels to claim at least the material losses.
The fishermen association, meanwhile, faulted the poorly maintained fishing jetty at Tharuvaikulam harbour for damage to vessels. They pointed out that the body of vessels often get damaged, especially during gusts, and this makes them vulnerable at sea.
Tharuvaikulam fishing vessel owners association president V Anthony Praveen said vessels sank due to wind gusts and violent waves that enlarged the minor cracks and weakened the body. He pointed out that the mechanised vessels get damaged while tethered at the Tharuvaikulam boat jetty in the fishing harbour as they hit the concrete platforms and the bottom. He noted that the sea has been choppy in the past few years.
The harbour has more than 350 motorised vessels. The poor infrastructure here leads to several damages to vessels, he said, adding they could not repair them due to the absence of high-mast lights and groynes that could have helped to protect the boats from dashing against each other. “Two boys drowned in the sea on July 26 as they slipped into the sea due to the absence of the lights in the fishing jetty,” claimed Praveen.
Another association leader, Churchill, said the Tharuvaikulam harbour management committee should ensure basic amenities at the fishing harbour. “The state government compensation is very meagre and it would not suffice. Hence, the state should work out an insurance policy for retrieving the damaged fishing vessels,” he said.
Collector Vishu Mahajan said the district administration will provide a compensation of `2 lakh for mechanised vessels and `50,000 country boats. “Other demands will be furnished by directing the departments concerned,” the collector said.
