The Single Point Mooring site off the coast here, has been left unguarded, hardly able to withstand the intrusion of the fishermen. The facility, located at a distance of about 30 kilometres off the coast, serves as a mooring point and interconnect for tankers like very large crude carriers (VLCC) loading or offloading inflammable gases and crude oil upto a capacity of 3 lakh tonnes.
According to the sources in the Fisheries Department, the facility has been facing attacks from the fishermen.
“We have been constantly alerted about intrusions into the site. The last case was on July 14th, when we held and fined a fishing vessel from Tamil Nadu for breaking into the area. But capturing the vessels is difficult. In the case of an encroachment, a vessel has to be sent all the way from the shore since there is not even a boat at the facility.
Secondly, even if we reach the spot on time, these fishermen have high-speed fibre vessels which can swiftly overtake our boats,” said the official involved in the operations at the SPM.But all these are the lesser evils. “Amidst the exchange between the fishermen and the department, if there is an accident leading to an oil-spill or fire, the results would be disastrous not only to the marine life, but also to the cities along the coast,” said the official.
Express had earlier reported that the security of the SPM was being compromised owing to a standoff between the CISF and the coastal security agencies. As a result, the security of the mooring point is now left in the hands of the Fisheries Department located on-shore, equipped with nothing more than a single boat and a few private security guards.Meanwhile, the area remains a gold mine for the fishermen. In spite of the fact that encroachment would attract a fine of `25,000, the fishermen seem to undeterred.
“The SPM was constructed in a very calm portion of the sea. Since no fishing activities have taken place there all these years, it has become a haven for catching fish,” said President of the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee, Charles George. But the BPCL authorities denied the security issues.
“We have our security officials placed at one nautical mile radius from the point, who direct the fishermen away from the spot. The fishermen have never really been a security threat,” said the spokesperson of BPCL
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