If the Pirates don't get you, the cops will . . .

The real truth on what you can expect at sea in and around India, as a Master Mariner.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Diary-of-a-Divorced-Delhi-Male/entry/if-the-pirates-don-t-get-you-the-cops-will

Sad, but true, and facts are hard.

As quoted in the Times of India . . .ENRICA LEXIE Italian mercenary murder case

It does seem, from the rest of the report, that the DGS is really really taking a dump on the MMD. And about time too.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Delay-in-probe-helped-Italian-ship-erase-data/articleshow/12226271.cms



""Shipping and marine security expert Veeresh Mallik said the delay by
the MMD, Cochin officials could have helped the culprits destroy
crucial evidence. "However," he said, "the VDR data can still be
retrieved with certain software if the equipment on board is not
damaged or replaced.""
'

Is racism the real reason for differing treatment of seafarers?

Why are our seafarers still getting killed on our coast?
March 10, 2012 08:17 AM |
Veeresh Malik

What is happening on the west coast of India lately with the MV Enrica Lexie, in and around Kerala, defies all logical explanation. Except one big one—the crew in this case happens to be European, not third world

http://www.moneylife.in/article/why-are-our-seafarers-still-getting-killed-on-our-coast/24156.html

A Master Mariner speaks out about fishing on the Indian coast . . .

Identity protected by request. Comments welcome:-

BTW: That article in Moneylife about another incident of loss of fishermen's lives off Kerala - I wish there would be some scathing reportage on the manner in which the fishing boats are allowed to operate. They display lights that are anything but Colreg compliant. They jam VHF frequencies with their ceaseless chatter seriously interfering with watchkeepers concentration and ability to send out/ listen in on safety/distress traffic. They always want/claim right of way - even when they are not engaged in fishing and thus are just power driven vessels. They cut across bows with gay abandon giving heart attacks to young OOW's who may have been given strict CPA's to maintain by Masters in their standing/nigt orders.

There is not a single 'no-fishing' zone established at the entrances by any of the coastal state governments for any of our busy ports. Mumbai port approaches are a nightmare for navigation due to the clutter of fishing boats. The DGS shrugs its shoulders (in reality it has no powers over fishing vessels and near coastal and inland waterways vessels). Coastal admins do not enforce even the basic requirements e.g. radar reflectors, proper nav lights, clear display of registry and name (so that ships can report violations), they do not publicise the means of lodging complaints e.g. contact details and address of office responsible etc - against navigation rule violations.

It's a mess. Those guys getting run over - they asked for it. I have no sympathy for them - having faced inumerable anxious moments myself in my career. All this whine they give about nav lights being costly or radar reflectors or painting their boats brightly (for better visual detection) is bunk. Or claiming that they have the right to impede safe navigation in constrained waters (e.g. port entrance zones) when they clearly know that the freighters too have every right to navigate in safety.

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This is the article referred to:-

http://www.moneylife.in/article/maritime-incidents-involving-fishermenmdasha-deeper-issue-impacting-our-global-economic-status/24024.html

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More of my stuff here:-

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Diary-of-a-Divorced-Delhi-Male/
http://matescabin.blogspot.com/
http://joyroc.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vm2827/

More fishermen killed off Kerala . . . and the larger impact

Maritime incidents involving fishermen—a deeper issue impacting our global economic status

The impact of this on our economic strength has been discussed in the past also in this journal, and matters have only become worse since then, but at some stage there comes a time when this sort of an approach—that India is content being a soft state—has to stop

http://www.moneylife.in/article/maritime-incidents-involving-fishermenmdasha-deeper-issue-impacting-our-global-economic-status/24024.html

__

The message has to get across. Either that or we can take our economic superpower dreams, and place them aside while more of our second line of defence, our fishermen, fall victims to rogue ships and the people onboard. If the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard have to be given an independent dispensation to enforce discipline and adherence to laws in Indian waters, in lieu of the civil maritime administration that appears to be incapable of doing anything other than feathering their halcyonic nests, then so be it.

Who is the real owner of the ENRICA LEXIE??

One of the more interesting aspects of the ENRICA LEXIE episode has to do with trying to figure out WHY the complete Italian Government machinery, along with really heavy duty support services like religion, PR, diplomats, and back-channel, are so interested in releasing this ship and the two armed mercenaries onboard.

And in the bargain, the REAL ownership of the vessel is not truly revealed, as well as the real purpose of the ship and what it was doing so close to Indian waters. After all, with armed guards onboard, she could have easily plotted a direct course to the Red Sea, instead of hugging the Indian coast, right?

Here's an interesting excerpt from a page on Italian law on the subject.

http://www.shiparrested.com/ship-arrest-in-italy-by-alberto-batini-bb-partners.html

read item 19 . . .

So, what about it, why is the ENRICA LEXIE so important to them??

Italian ships, Indian Navy, and the Arabian Sea

On one side, in the ENRICA LEXIE case, the Italians are going ballistic about the capabilities, fairness, investigative skills and even judicial integrity of India. They also question the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard's right to take action a few miles off the Indian coast.

On the other side, for the Italian passenger ship COSTA ALLEGRA, the Indian Navy provides air support, air back-up, food drop and more - and this one, the ship is near Seychelles, almost along the coast of Tanzania.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9110381/Costa-Allegra-cruise-ship-filmed-from-the-air-by-Indian-navy.html

and:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17186829

Here, the Italians say:- ""The ship is at the southern end of the seas that are vulnerable to attacks by Somali pirates. But a government spokesman told the BBC that attacks in the area had decreased in the past year as security improved.""

Make your own judgement. If you ask me, all these Italian ships need to now have a tug in front and one behind, for safety reasons.

Safety of other users of the oceans and seas.

(The COSTA ALLEGRA lost all power after a fire onboard and is adrift right now. The Indians provide the SAR support in this part of the world. That includes SAR for fishing boats attacked by merchant ships, by the way.)

Enrica Lexie - smoking gun?

My article on the Enrica Lexie case for Current . . dubious, smelly . . . oh well.

http://currentnews.in/2012/02/27/suspicious-ship-something-smelly/

"It is difficult to understand why the complete diplomatic, military, religious and PR machinery of Italy would come into play for an incident involving something as commonplace as the arrest of a ship – scores, if not hundreds, of ships lie under arrest globally at any given time."

Is the Enrica Lexia a 2nd Purulia armsdrop case?

Here's my article on the Enrica Lexie / St. Antony case in context with the murder of two Indian seafarers - and as the shipping brass descends into Cochin, in full form to celebrate the inauguration of the Cochin MMD office, the question needing an answer is this - is this a Purulia Armsdrop kind of case?

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ws240212Opinion.asp

And here's a copy of my recent letter to the office of the DGS . . .:-

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Do let me know what you think, and can anybody understand the position of the poor souls on board, the Indians - what happens to them when they finally disembark and all this nonsense of "diplomatic immunity" for the ship when the Port State Control has full authority, gets over?

I mean, our PSC struts around like monkeys otherwise, where are they now in this case, can't even go on board for an inspection, stop the ship on any of a few dozen deficiencies, as usual, and make their little petty haftaas?

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Letter to DGS:-

Good morning and hope you and your colleagues have a pleasant visit to Cochin.

Here is the latest article by me on what is now increasingly being referred to as "Purulia 2".

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ws240212Opinion.asp

I think DG Shipping should have played a far more pro-active role in this episode, especially when the initiative was with them. Now the whole mess of the DGS is being opened like a can of worms and I feel sorry, though vindicated.

Good luck, and I hope you preside over a major clean-up and shake-up at DGS.

Veeresh Malik

New Delhi

Enrica Lexie - what lessons should we learn?

This is the 4th article by me on the subject of the Enrica Lexie/St Antony episode.

http://moneylife.in/article/killing-of-indian-seafarers-off-keralamdashwhat-lessons-need-to-be-learnt/23839.html

The first three are also on this blog as well as linked through the main pages at http;//www.moneylife.in

Incidentally, the pressure on me to stop writing or change my stance is extremely high, including veiled threats. Such is life. Such us shipping, too.

Please do read the articles as well as many of the interacts and responses, they are truly informative.

Your views and comments, publicly here or privately to me, will be appreciated and identites protected as always.

3rd part of my article on the St. Antony / Enrica Lexie incident

http://moneylife.in/article/killing-of-indian-seafarers-in-cold-blood-off-keralamdashthe-colonials-strike-again-part-3/23745.html

"“Thanks to the government’s attitude towards the whole episode, there appears to be a huge cover-up underway when by right the two captains of Enrica Lexie along with the six armed mercenaries and the watch-keeping officer, who happened to be an Indian national chief officer, should have been hauled away for obstructing justice and attempting to flee the scene of a crime as well as destroying evidence. Shame on us as a country for watching on while the colonials strike again”"

(read on . . .)

Italian soldiers surrender to Indian jawans . . .

There is nothing new in Italian armed mercenaries surrendering to Indian jawans.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Galleries/Wars/British/WW2/0375.jpg.html

HTML Formatted Links

2nd part of my report on the enrica lexie/St Antony case off Kerla

Murder most foul. And worse, the authorities are trying to wiggle out of things, too. First they let the ship escape. When that was foiled, they changed tactics to compensation.

Does nobody think of national security, national interest, and country's pride and honour??

http://www.moneylife.in/article/killing-of-indian-seafarers-in-cold-blood-off-keralamdashthe-case-of-the-st-anthony-and-enrica-lexie-part-2/23721.html

fv St. ANTONY/mt ENRICA LEXIE, murder of Indian fishermen

What's with the Italians on the high seas lately, anyways? A spate of MSC disasters, the RENA in NZ, the COSTA CONCORDIA in Italy and now this, the ENRICA LEXIE starts taking potshots at Indian seafarers (fishermen) off the Indian coast, and then not just murders them, but leaves them to die on the high seas?

Are we THAT gone as a country? Can anybody even imagine what the fate of Indian seafarers would have been if something even a fraction of this had happened on the Italian coast?

Let the Italian seafarers meet the media, to start with, don't let them hide behind the protection of the local State Government - which in any case is acting like an apologist.

http://moneylife.in/article/killing-of-indian-seafarers-in-cold-blood-off-keralamdashthe-case-of-the-st-anthony-and-enrica-lexia/23712.html