Armed guards on merchant vessels a concern

KOCHI: Wednesday’s incident in which two fishermen were shot at from an Italian merchant vessel in the outer sea has triggered fresh concerns on security. The incident has also brought to light the other side of deploying armed guards on board merchant vessels. The Indian Navy has already taken up the issue and issued a warning to fishermen about the possible threat.“The armed guards on board merchant vessels tend to overreact to such incidents when they come across fishing boats and other vessels. Adding to the trouble some fishing vessels from Thiruvananthapuram look like skiffs, commonly used by pirates. Recently there was an incident in which a fishing boat was shot at by a merchant vessel.  One person was injured in the incident. The Indian Navy has issued a caution note to the secretary of Fisheries Department asking fishermen not to go near merchant vessels,” said a top coastal security official from the Defence Ministry. It was hardly a year ago that most countries permitted merchant vessels to deploy armed guards on board. Nowadays even Indian vessels are going for foreign security guards. The Fisheries officials said that in incidents occurring beyond the territorial waters, the officials cannot do anything. “We do not have any control over their activities in the outer sea. Though there are proper signaling systems when they come across a merchant vessel, most fishermen are not aware of that. Also in the night, they might be sleepy and do not think about signaling,” said George Kutty, Ernakulam District Fisheries Officer and Deputy Director, Fisheries. The incident has also brought to light the absence of proper signal system in fishing vessels.  Yet another issue is the change in shipping channels. Of late, merchant vessels coming to Indian ports are opting for new routes, which are closer to the Kerala coast.“The incident on Wednesday occurred about 20-22 nautical miles away from the coast. In the wake of piracy threat, most of the vessels opt for new shipping routes avoiding the earlier shortcuts. Vessels coming from the Gulf countries and Malacca are obviously worried about the pirate threat,” coastal security sources pointed out.