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Mystery shrouds disappearing ship

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The disappearance of a Sri Lankan ship bound for Dubai from the Indian territorial waters at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala is seeped in mystery.

The ship was anchored 18 from the Poovar shore after the ship's captain and two crew members were arrested on February 14 for not having valid documents. Local fishermen reported that the ship was missing on March 11.

A search by the police and customs agencies has yielded no result. A Customs department speed launch, equipped with modern radar, made an extensive search up to Kanyakumari on Friday but found nothing.

The authorities have ruled out the possibility of the ship having sunk. A senior police official, who was on the search party, said the sea was too calm for any mishap to have occurred. He feels that four crew members, who remained on board, should have escaped if the ship had sunk. However, none have reported to the authorities so far. The ship, the source said, was equipped with life jackets and boats to meet any such contingency.

The authorities believe the ship, managed by the four crew members, including an engineer, may have left Indian waters.

The police feel there was no need for the ship's owners to take the ship out of the Indian territorial waters since there was no bar on the ship leaving. Police sources said that the ship was not detained when the captain and two crew members were arrested under the Foreigners Act.

The owners of the ship were free to take away the ship any time. The owner of the ship, based in Dubai, had not made sought the authorities' permission to take the ship away. He had also not communicated with the Indian authorities after the ship disappeared.

The local police are also surprised at the silence of the port authorities and the Coast Guard on the matter.

Police sources said that if the two agencies had swung into action immediately after they were informed about the ship's disappearance, the ship could have easily been traced. Some fishermen had told the police that they had seen the ship heading towards Kochi.

The Sri Lankan ship, a medium-sized oil tanker, was anchored near the international channel. The police source said that the Coast Guard and port authorities at Kochi were informed on Sunday itself as they were in a better position to track the ship if it had slipped into the international channel.

The ship, which was en route to Dubai from Colombo, had anchored near Indian shores so that they could take on provisions, crew members said.

Two crewmembers were arrested when they were returning with provisions. The captain, who came in search of the two crew members, was also held.

The police, Navy and Coast Guard could not find any contraband goods in the ship in their joint inspection following the arrest of the captain and two crewmembers. The police have been supplying provisions to the remaining crew members, who remained in the ship since then.

The city court is still considering the bail application of those arrested and is to take up the matter on March 28. The court has already postponed the hearing on the application thrice times now.

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