Wary of oil spills, fishing community to move HC

To avert instances of ships stranded at Mumbai coast, police seek fishermen's help

Wary of oil spills, fishing community to move HC

To avert instances of ships stranded at Mumbai coast, police seek fishermen's help

Worried about the ecological harm and loss of livelihood to the city's fishing community, caused by instances of ships sinking near Mumbai's coast, the fishermen's association in the city on Saturday announced plans of moving the Bombay High Court.

On Thursday, MV Rak Carrier, a 225 metre-long cargo ship on voyage from Indonesia to Gujarat, carrying 60,000 tons of coal, 290 tons of fuel oil and 50 tons of diesel, sank 20 nautical miles off the city's coast. Last year, two cargo ships -- MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia -- had collided, causing a huge oil spill. In another instance, although no oil spill was reported, two vessels recently got stranded on the city's shore, one of which, MT Pavit, has still not been moved.

Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti (AMMKS), the community's association, plans to appeal to the HC that the owners of the ships that get sunk near the city's shores be made to pay 20 per cent of the money they claim for insurance. Damodar Tandel, President, AMMKS said, "These ship owners get away. They claim insurance money but it is we (fishermen) who suffer."

The association wants the money thus collected to be used in cleaning up the ocean, if contaminated by an oil spill, and in building a police outpost that can look into the coast's security.

According to Tandel, the colliding of MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia caused a huge oil spill and led to a poorer catch. Although one year has passed since the incident, the association's demand of Rs 8 crore for the loss caused to the fishing community has not been met. The collision may have led to many canisters containing pesticides being washed ashore.

Tandel said, "We fear MV Rak Carrier's sinking has affected the waters."

Suraksha Dal for the seas
Meanwhile, similar incidents have led to concerns over how maritime security forces were too late in spotting them. As a result, police forces are asking fishermen to help in intelligence gathering, carry mobile phones when they venture out to sea and call for help if they chance upon ships gone astray.

According to Pratap Dighavkar, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, "We are asking fishermen to become part of the local coastal security force, which will be called Sagri Suraksha Dal. It will work as a community police force in the sea to avert such incidents." Tandel added that this force would contain 1,085 fishermen.

Dighavkar added that the police had already begun briefing the fishermen on how they can help maritime security.

Meanwhile, the police on Saturday arrested the captain and chief engineer of the MV Rak -- Arkan Abdul Khalil Yunus and Ioneseu Ion respectively -- for "carelessness" and endangering the lives of others.