Captain, navigator of cargo ship that hit Indian fishing boat in custody

The captain and the navigator of the Panama-flagged cargo ship that hit a fishing boat off the coast, leaving two fishermen dead and one missing, have been taken into custody by the Kerala Police, said a top police official on Thursday.

Capt Ioannis Georgiannakis, commanding the vessel named Amber L. and Second Officer Galanos Athanasios are now being questioned, Coastal Police Division chief Tomin J.Thachenkery told IANS.

"They were taken into custody after it was found out through scientific tests that the cargo ship Amber L was the vessel that had hit the Indian fishing boat. The vessel also has been asked to stay put here, till all the formalities are over," said Thachenkery.

The two officials were taken into custody after the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Kochi submitted an "Initial Report" to the Directorate General of Shipping, holding it was this particular cargo ship that had caused the accident on Sunday.

The Kerala High Court on Monday directed authorities to seize documents of the cargo ship.

The ship, carrying fertilisers, is now berthed in the outer seas.

One of the dead fishermen is from Tamil Nadu and the other from Assam. The missing fisherman is said to be from Uttar Pradesh. Eleven fishermen were rescued by another fishing boat.

--IANS

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