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 Over 10,000 fishermen use the same frequency, making tracking the boats impossible
Terrorists on board the M V Kuber used the International Marine VHF channel to mask their sailing pattern, investigations have revealed. Almost all fishermen operating in the Gujarat coastal region use the VHF frequency to communicate, thereby jamming the network and making it impossible for the Coast Guard to track the source.
"There are hundreds of calls every minute and it's difficult to find out which one is from a Pakistani vessel," said a local port trust official. More than 10,000 wireless sets have been illegally sold along the Gujarat coast in the past months.
Marine radio
Marine VHF radio, installed on all ships and most motorised small craft, is used for many purposes, including summoning rescue services and communicating with harbours and marinas, and operates in the VHF frequency range, between 156 to 174 MHz. Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) is the international calling and distress channel.
10,000 wireless sets have been illegally sold
This includes those sold to Pakistani fishermen.
On November 14, M V Kuber's path could not be determined, as hundreds of other vessels were on the VHF frequency.
Even the al-Husseni managed to sneak past the radar owing to the jammed VHF frequency.
"Locals have been chatting on the frequency for long durations, mostly on channel 16. We are forced to move to another channel to avoid interference," said Coast Guard Inspector General Rajendra Singh, commander of western region.
ISI links
Coast Guard officials recovered four drums from the deck of Kuber, one of them contained 1,400 litres of high speed diesel (HSD). Local fishermen use only light diesel oil, while HSD is used only on government-owned ships, raising questions that it could be supplied by the Pakistani navy.
ATS inquiry
Mumbai's ATS had already launched an inquiry into the role of some dock thieves involved in pilfering diesel. They also suspect Kuber's skipper, Amarsinh Solanki, of conniving with Pakistan's ISI. The theory assumes significance in light of the fact that Solanki had recently spent 13 months in a Pakistani jail.
Coastal command
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has initiated a Coastal Command for the safety of Mumbai. The plan is to guard the western seafront from Pakistani attacks. A large flotilla of ships will be placed under the command of the Coast Guard. The task is to guard entry of unfriendly ships from entering Indian waters, particularly vessels heading for Mumbai.
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