INDIA. Mumbai: Suspicious-looking unmanned Yemeni fishing vessel- “Al Azher-1”, which was partially sunk and was adrift in the Arabian Sea, was intercepted and investigated by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday.
Based on inputs from the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC), the Indian Coast Guard, detected an unmanned adrift fishing boat around 160 km away from Maharashtra Coast. The investigation by ICG ship revealed that the fishing vessel was unmanned, found with ropes and fishing nets and was adrift at sea for a longer duration due to rough weather.
The vessel appeared to be a Yemeni vessel- Al Azher-1 and was thoroughly searched for any suspicious activity. Further investigations were carried out by the Regional Headquarters, Mumbai, with Yemen authorities and the fishing boat owner. The documents of the vessel were verified by Yemen authorities, and the credentials of the boat were established as bonafide, and there was no security angle involved.
Authorities in Yemen and the boat owner confirmed that the boat was on passage from Socotra Port to Al Shihir Port in Yemen (Middle East) and suffered mechanical failure off Socotra. 05 crew onboard were rescued by other fishing boats on June 30. The boat with propulsion failure was adrift thereafter. As per the southwest monsoon current and drift, the boat drifted to the Arabian Sea and was detected by ICG.
The vessel is partially sunk and heavily listed to port due to the ingress of water and limited fuel. The vessel is adrift, and the likelihood of the vessel running aground off North Maharashtra due to prevalent drift by Tuesday/Wednesday, August 07/08, cannot be ruled out. Apparently, there was no threat of pollution by the fishing boat. All stakeholders have been intimated on the findings, according to ICG statement.
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