Case registered against cargo vessel that hit fishing boat

Kochi: The Kerala Coastal Police has registered a case against a cargo vessel, which allegedly hit a fishing boat off the Kollam coast on Saturday, it said here Monday.

The coastal police said they had registered the case against the vessel after recording the statements of the fishermen, who were on board the fishing boat.

The boat was hit by the cargo vessel, about 40 nautical miles from Kollam, in international waters.

In their statement, the fishermen said the ship, which they could not identify, had gone southwards after the incident.

The crew of the ship had been charged under IPC sections 280 (rash navigation of vessel) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), the Kochi Coastal Police said.

All the six fishermen -- one Keralite and five from Tamil Nadu -- on board the boat were rescued by other boats nearby and brought to the shore safely.

The Navy had said the ship was "most likely" a Hong Kong-registered vessel and it would be asked to berth at a nearby Indian port for further investigations.

The ship is now in international waters.

"The ship involved has been identified most likely to be Ksl Ang Yang, registered at Hong Kong, and it is heading southwards," a Navy spokesperson had said yesterday.

The boat involved in the incident has also been brought to the Neendakara fishing harbour in Kollam district.

The incident came close on the heels of two fishermen being killed and 11 others getting injured when a Panama- registered cargo ship hit their fishing boat off the Kochi coast on June 11.

Kerala had also witnessed another fatal incident involving a foreign ship in February, 2012 when two fishermen from the state were shot dead by two Italian marines on board an oil tanker.