Pak vessel drops anchor near Guj coast, crew being questioned

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) brought the vessel back to Tuna port after being alerted by Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS) at Kandla.

"All the Central and state intelligence agencies have begun joint interrogation of the crew. We will look at the fitness certificate of the vessel, since it's old (1983 make)," a Coast Guard official said.

The merchant vessel, laden with 16,000 tonnes of sugar, left Kandla on July 6 for Iraq, but came to a halt after a few days in mid-sea near Vadinar.

The captain informed that there was water ingress, and further voyage was not advisable without offloading of some cargo. He also told the Indian authorities that they would get it repaired and then sail on, the official said.

Also, the sugar supply contract had been annulled, so the crew was awaiting instructions from the ship owner, according to the captain.