Mid-sea collision: DGS begins investigation

THRISSUR: Officials from the directorate general of shipping (DGS) launched a probe after a merchant vessel, Amber L, rammed a fishing boat, Carmel Matha, off Kochi early on Sunday.“Shipping secretary Rajive Kumar has ordered a probe and it will be carried out by our officials from the mercantile marine department in Kochi. The probe will be impartial and steps would be taken to punish the culprits,“ said director general of shipping Malini Shankar from Mumbai.She added that the probe would be comprehensive and would cover most aspects of the accident, including where the incident happened, how and who is responsible for the same.Meanwhile, there are conflicting versions on the location of the ship. But, DGS officials said the exact location can be as certained by using the data from longrange identification and tracking system and later by corroborating it with the data from t h e s h i p.MMD offic i a l s f ro m Kochi will be boarding the vessel on Monday to collect data from the voice data recorder and other instruments.Shankar added that penal provisions against those responsible is possible if the incident took place within 12nm, which is the area under the jurisdiction of the state government. If the collision happened between 12 and 200nm, the probe will have to be carried out by DGS, compensation would be the remedy .Pointing out that two people were killed in the mishap, she said that `we should be collectively working out strategies'. “DGS has been advising fishing vessels to install automatic information system (AIS) transponders as it would significantly reduce such accidents and ensure an effective probe if accidents happen. Some boats took action and installed AIS transponders.Many boats did not comply with the order citing equipment cost,“ she said.Fisheries department said there were instances where boat operators switched off the transponders to keep their fishing zone a secret. “There could be commercial considerations. No fishing vessel would like the rest of the world to know where they get a good catch,“ said the official.