'Action plan should stop tragedies'

MANGALORE: The plan of action finalized between the port authorities and the fishermen leaders on Friday should put an end to problems faced by fishermen in bringing in their boats to port during distress, said new Mangalore Port (NMP) chairman P Tamilvanan here on Monday.
"The port authorities had decided that boats in distress will be allowed inside the port after a physical check of the boat, the documents and the identity of the people by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.We will not wait for the authorization or verification letter from the Deputy Director of Fisheries,'' Tamilvanan reiterated.
At a press meet on Monday, the chairman admitted, "On last Tuesday there was a bit of confusion which forced the injured fishermen to go to old port for emergency aid. I was at the port premises and had given the go ahead for the boat to be allowed inside. A delay in the message reaching the boat personnel may have caused this. I will not deny any boat in distress or injured personnel aid from the port's side,'' he asserted.
The chairman said the port conducts port security committee conducts tri-monthly meet and at the meeting held on Monday the fishermen issue was discussed threadbare.
He denied that the Ocean Fisher II boat was turned back by port authorities on Thursday and said they could not be held responsible for the mishap that followed.
Indian Coast Guard Commandant (Operations) Rajender Singh Sapal said that he had received distress call at 3 am, but without the exact location being known it was difficult to dispatch a vessel for search and rescue operations. Later the coordinates were found to be 30 nautical miles off the coast.
He reiterated that unless fishing vessels tag along each other in groups, especially during monsoons, and have life saving equipment on board, it was difficult to avoid fatalities like this. If they had a couple of life buoys, they could have been saved as search and rescue operations do take time,'' he added.
Sympathizing with the victims, Tamilvanan supported the CISF saying that security aspect is paramount as the port handled 20 million tons of cargo of which nearly two million tons was LPG.