Chennai: The Indian Coast Guard has apprehended two Sri Lankan fishing boats with nine crew members on board off Nagapattinam coast for "illegally venturing" into Indian waters.
ICG ship Vishwast while on a patrol apprehended the two
boats -- Jiyasuru-5 and Samara-2, 57 nautical miles east of
Nagapattinam yesterday along with the crew and fish catch of
1,000 kg, a Coast Guard release said here today.
The nine crew, five and four on each boat, were
apprehended on charges of fishing without licence, entering
Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without stowing fishing
gear in the prescribed manner and failing to produce documents
as required under the Maritime Zones of India Act 1981.
"The boats are equipped with GPS, radar and long range
high frequency communication equipment posing high security
risk," the release said.
This was the first apprehension of the year by the coast
guard, it said, adding a total of 34 Sri Lankan fishing boats
along with 173 crew were apprehended and more than 30,000 kgs
of fish recovered from them last year.
ICG has been maintaining its vigil along the Eastern
seaboard. Coast Guard ships and aircraft were being regularly
deployed to monitor suspicious activities at sea, it said.
PTI
