Yemeni fishing vessel found adrift 160 km from state coast

Mumbai: An adrift Yemeni fishing vessel was found 160 km away from the Maharashtra coast on August 5. The unmanned vessel caused a scare, but after verification with the Yemeni Coast Guard and the master of the vessel, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) learnt that the vessel had lost its power.

An ICG officer said that they were tipped off about the unmanned adrift fishing boat by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), who were informed about it by an official of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission.

An investigation by the ICG ship revealed that the fishing vessel was found with ropes and fishing nets and was adrift at Sea for a longer duration due to rough weather. The vessel, which appeared to be the Yemeni vessel Al Azher-1, was thoroughly searched for any suspicious activity.

Further investigations were carried out by the regional headquarters of Mumbai with Yemen authorities and the owner of the fishing boat. “The documents of the vessel were verified by Yemen authorities. The credentials of the boat were established as bonafide, and there is no security angle involved,” said a coast guard officer.

Authorities in Yemen and the owner of the boat confirmed that the boat Al Azher-1 was on passage from Socotra Port to Al Shihir Port in Yemen and suffered propulsion failure off Socotra. Five crew onboard were rescued by another fishing boat on June 30.

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 on the coast cannot be ruled out. There appears to be no pollution threat by the fishing boat. All stakeholders have been intimated of the findings, said the officer.