The real Gateway to India - Chagos Archipelago (part 1 & 2)

So how and where and when did we just simply give up the whole British Indian Ocean Territories, our claim to it, the Chagos, and what does it mean to many of us?

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Diary-of-a-Divorced-Delhi-Male/entry/gateway-to-india

""There was a time, glory days, as my seafaring friends will recall, this was '70s and '80s, when if you flew the Indian flag and had "INDIA" painted on the sides of your ship, nobody in the world touched you. The Persian Gulf was at war, 1971 was fresh in the world's mind, Vietnam was drawing to a big American defeat, USSR was dissolving, England was fighting Argentine, but ships with INDIA painted in huge day-glow letters on the side (and huge means each alphabet was 5-10 metres in height, depending on the size of the ship) were inviolate.""


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http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Diary-of-a-Divorced-Delhi-Male/entry/the-real-gateway-to-india-chagos-and-more

""The first island to go was what is known today as Bab el Manded. Used to be known as Dwar-e-Mandir, or, the gateway to the temples. Located off Aden, a mere speck but straddling the entry and exit to the Red Sea, it is still important enough. In mythology, it is where the Red Sea was split into two to save the Faithful, but in history, these were low-lying swamps which the early humans crossed over to reach Asia from Africa. 60000 years or so ago.

For us it used to be a point of reference, as it was for seafarers for centuries before, from where we knew the courses by heart to a full range of ports from the entry to the Persian Gulf through the Straits of Hormuz to the West Coast of India, or the base of Ceylon called Devundra or Lord's Port and now known as Dondra Head, and thence beyond into the wonders of Malacca.""

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read on . . .

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.)

Wreck of old Indian built ship to be retrieved . . .

Found this interesting article on the internet, pertaining to trade between India and Australia centuries ago . . . makes for valid questions too on where did India's shipping and ship-building industry go? Where was this ship built, who built her, how was the shipyard, where was she designed, who were the crew onboard . . .

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/maritime-crew-to-search-for-royal-mess/story-e6frfku0-1226235801520

THE Royal Charlotte brought convicts to Australia, carried troops to India and served as a warning beacon to other vessels, and scientists now want her to help them understand trade between fledging colonies in the early 19th Century.

The only problem is she's been under water for more than 180 years.

The Indian built ship ran aground in the Frederick Reef, off the Queensland coast, on June 11, 1825, resulting in two deaths.

A party was sent to Moreton Bay, while the rest of the ship's 100 passengers - soldiers and their families - scraped their way to a sandy coral quay, where military discipline and ingenuity ensured their survival for six weeks, after which help finally came.

It's a remarkable story which an expedition is trying to complete as they search for the Royal Charlotte's remains.

The two-week expedition, led by Australian National Maritime Museum marine archaeologist Kieran Hosty, will depart Gladstone tomorrow.

Mr Hosty said the crew will search a 14 nautical mile by 4 nautical mile (26km x 7km) area of shallow water.

There was evidence the ship had survived several years after the wreck, Mr Hosty said.

"There's accounts that the Royal Charlotte was still sitting there four years later, and being used as a beacon," he said.

"When the area was accurately charted thirty years later, the Royal Navy navigators found remains of an Indian-built ship they called the Queen Charlotte.

He said the ship's construction meant it had a chance of survival.

"It's interesting, because the Royal was an Indian built ship, so it was made out of teak, which is quite a robust material," he said.

"However, this is a tropical environment - there's all sorts of insects which eat timber and there have been numerous cyclones in the area.

"We're not going to find a ship as people would imagine. We're more likely to find a scattering of timbers and hopefully buried material."

Mr Hosty said the remains could shine light on the early trade between colonial Sydney and India.

"There was an ad hoc trade system where anything and everything was traded," he said.

"At first it was general supplies and provisions, but later on there were timbers, coal, alcohol. Even horses and exotic animals."

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/maritime-crew-to-search-for-royal-mess/story-e6frfku0-1226235801520#ixzz1j7PRCPzI

Does the West expect India to be their policeman for free in the Indian Ocean?

"Oceans Beyond Piracy" (OBP) held a 2-day seminar in Delhi on the 18th and 19th of November 2011, of which the first day was open to a larger audience while the second day was only for stake-holders.

On day-1, the speakers included the representatives of OBP and facilitators from the United Nations, as well as senior people from the Indian, Bangladesh and Sri Lankan Navies. The absence of anybody from the Indian shipping companies was indeed surprising. There were, however, many representatives of the foreign shipping company agents present in India, including people from FOSMA and MASSA companies.

OBP is a privately funded effort by a Somali origin resident of the US, who is trying to get stake-holders to do their bit in a larger holistice view of ground realities in and around the Horn of Africa. The focus is, also, on relieving the NATO, EUNAVFOR and US forces in the area if possible to look after other pressing issues in the region.

A call was made for the Indian Navy to take on more of a role. However, simple fact remains, a large proportion of the ships transitting the piracy areas and at risk are flying "Flag of Convenience" and by rights it is the responsibility of their flag states to provide security to them. This is the big issue - because most ships plying on FOC basis are owned by companies registered in tax havens - but it is the tax-payers money which is supposed to foot the bill.

There is a mis-match here somewhere which was brought out on the sidelines of the event. The Western world, with its own disputed base at Diego Garcia, can not expect the Indian Navy to play policeman for free in what is essentially a global issue - the issue of rampant FOC ships owned by owners hiding behind tax havens plying the trade lanes.

Well meaning initiative seemingly backed strongly by the US Government, but it has to be fair to other Governments and people in the Indian Ocean, also.

More about OBP here:-

http://oceansbeyondpiracy.org/

Photographs are available here in reverse chronological order:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vm2827/6450802523/in/photostream

Piracy in the Indian Ocean - the impact on seafarers

For the last few years I have on more than a dozen occasions and now rising rapidly, met with family members of seafarers stuck in piracy and similar captivity episodes, as well as with seafarers who have returned from such episodes. This does not include the list of people who have been victims of criminalisation of seafarers.

Let me be very clear - some common threads go through all of them:-

# Most of them do not wish to be identified. The fear is as much from the long arm of the pirates, which are said to extend to within the established routes in India, to a fear of the unknown in as much as they have to content with social pressures as well as other pressures from various "authorities".

# A few have suffered tragedies - in three documented cases, the Indian seafarers have died as a direct consequence. A few more have lost their marital relationships. Yet some more are so traumatised that they are simply unable to function, leave alone go back to sea.

# The less said about support from the employers or the authorities after release, the better, because in most cases it simply does not exist. Forget compensation, even wages on service during period onboard are subject to the whims and fancies of those who would hold up full amounts due for minor clarifications.

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Here, is one of the first most graphic reports on the subject, by the Master of the mv RENUAR, a Panamax bulk carrier which was following every rule in the book to keep pirates at bay - except strong citadels and armed guards.

http://piracy.lloydslist.com/captive-an-experience-never-forgotten/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb1VAgYkUiY



In the Master's own words:- ""The ship was 550 miles off India, 1050 miles off the Somali coast and close to the Maldives. It was heading north on a course given to it by the UK Maritime Trade Organization’s centre in Dubai, where it had been sending daily position reports, when it ran straight into a waiting pirate mothership. Capt Caniete had been putting the crew through ant-piracy drills, the ship’s railings were covered in barbed wire and the fire hoses rigged to pump water over the side of the ship at the press of a button. Dummy watchkeepers had been rigged around the side of the ship to make it look like they had more than the 25 crew onboard. But it was not enough on a large, slow drybulk vessel with a low freeboard.""


Do take a look at the enclosed video. Some pictures are traumatic and viewer discretion advised.

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Official Indian Government Indian Navy position on piracy . .

http://neptunemaritimesecurity.posterous.com/admiral-nirmal-verma-draws-attention-of-chief

October 21, 2011 Admiral Nirmal Verma Draws Attention of Chiefs of Navies to Criticality of United Action Against Piracy
An International Seapower Symposium was held in New Port, Rhode Island, USA under the aegis of the US Naval War College . The theme of the 20th edition of the symposium was "Security and Prosperity through Maritime Partnerships."
More than 110 nations, with 75 heads of Navy and 22 heads of Coast Guard, attended the Symposium. Admiral Nirmal Verma addressed the symposium in its inagural session on 19 oct 2011. Drawing attention of the world leaders of Navies and Coast Guards to the need for united action against piracy, Adm Verma reflected the Indian stand that “the international efforts towards combating piracy would benefit if there were fewer disparate task forces and independent naval operations. India’s relative autonomy of efforts towards combating piracy offSomalia can be traced to its preference for a UN mandated operations which we believe if adopted would holistically enhance the efficacy of operations”.

[NMS Note: The Admiral's full speech follows below:]



CNS’ ADDRESS AT THE 20TH INTERNATIONAL SEA POWER SYMPOSIUM

Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy , Chiefs of Navies and Coast Guards present with us this morning, Admiral Christenson: President of the United States Naval WarCollege- our gracious host, Flag Officers, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is always wonderful to be back at the Alma-Mater. From what I remember, Newport weather has always had the reputation of a temperamental lover – warm, wonderful, or, chillingly cold –most definitely, almost always – delightfully unpredictable. Today has been wonderful so far and let us all share our optimism for the rest of the week!



At the outset, I would like to thank Admiral Jonathan Greenert and all the organisers of the International Sea Power Symposium for affording me the opportunity to speak to this august audience on a subject that has affected mariners since times immemorial and yet is very contemporary - maritime piracy.



The difference today is that piracy at sea which was previously primarily robbery has now morphed into an elaborate network of operations to extract enormous quantities of ransom. Ransom amounts have increased to an average of 5.4 million USD per ship, from just 150,000 USD five years ago. According to a recent study by One Earth Future the economic cost of piracy maybe as high as 12 billion USD a year. This translates into increased operating costs, environmental expenses view rerouting of ships and most importantly, tremendous human costs. Even as we speak, 09 ships with over 300 seafarers of a range of nationalities, including 53 of my own countrymen are presently hostages in this contentious conflict. Lethal force and physical abuse are increasingly being used by pirates to leverage ransom negotiations.

The roots of Piracy are diverse; predominantly, political instability which has created a void of governance and economic opportunities ashore resulting in the manifestation of this menace at sea. Also worth reflecting upon, are the Somalian claims that the origins of piracy can be traced back to illegal fishing by other countries and dumping of toxic waste in their EEZ. Given the complications involved, no single response will solve the problem. While there may be some ambiguities about what we can or should do, there is no doubt that the fundamental prerequisite to any solution is the collaborative engagement of a wide range of maritime nations and littoral states. In this context I would highlight the work of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) under the aegis of the United Nations, which we believe is doing sterling work for coordinating international cooperation particularly information sharing. In the similar vein are the efforts of the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) initiative and that of UK Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) which functions from Dubai. These engagements have facilitated an agreement between independently deployed navies like Japan and India to coordinate their anti piracy operations, so that international shipping has more flexible options for escort schedules.

Beyond piracy’s complex genesis, it is interesting to highlight the metamorphosis of pirate activities. Despite multinational efforts, the number of incidents and net effects of piracy are on the increase with seasonal variations on account of the monsoons and geographic shifts dependent on the presence of naval units. The international efforts off the Gulf of Aden have resulted in piracy spreading to other areas of the Indian Oceanwhich had not experienced these attacks earlier. Some of these areas have been not too distant from India’sLakshadweep and Mincoy group of islands and naturally therefore this has been a cause of concern to us. It has become evident that pirates are changing their modus of operations as they have been observed to use hijacked merchant vessels as mother ships. This has given them an extended reach of over 1000 nautical miles from the Somali coast.

Given their changing tactics and operations, it is as Clausewitz would tell us imperative to strike at their centre of gravity, ‘the hub of all power and movement, on which all else depends’. To my mind, their Centre of Gravity is the elaborate network of financers that fund operations and facilitate revenue collection. A recent UN report revealed that of the ransom paid in each incident of piracy only 20% reaches the pirates, while financers and sponsors hive off 50%. The question that begs to be answered is that how do they manage to divert funds in so unfettered a manner? Therefore, there is a need to build a strategy beyond multinational maritime counter piracy operations to facilitate tracking of the fiscal trail.



It is important that our efforts be cultivated before what is at present a relatively benign problem of piracy, develops a nexus with radical terrorism which has a cancerous potential.



Moving on to what we are doing and some thoughts about what it is that we can collectively achieve.



What we are seeing today is a hitherto unprecedented, full and willing cooperation between a wide range of navies to combat piracy by providing credible deterrence thereby enhancing commercial confidence and facilitating the freedom of navigation in the global commons.



What is required is the collaborative engagement of both major maritime powers as well as the littoral states. The importance of littoral states towards a viable solution was best amplified by the success of the South-East Asian countries to combat piracy. While it is obvious to highlight that Somalia is a failed State, in stark contrast to the economically vibrant Southeast Asia, nevertheless, Somalia does have comparatively stable neighbours who could contribute to a regional response and international efforts could provide impetus to the fledgling Somali Coast Guard. Larger maritime forces could facilitate training of local navies and coast guards.

We in India are particularly concerned about the safety of mariners in the Indian Ocean since we are geographically centred aside the major shipping routes in the region. Units of the Indian Navy have been tasked to carry out escorts in the Gulf of Aden, irrespective of their nationality, since October 2008. So far, of the nearly 1800 ships that have been escorted by the Indian Navy in the Gulf of Aden, more than 80% have been flying flags other than Indian. I had mentioned about the shift in the areas of operations of the pirates closer to our island territories and consequently we have had to increase our anti piracy deployments. This resulted in four pirate mother ships being intercepted by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard earlier this year. Consequently, there has been a reduction of piracy incidents in the area and we intend to maintain this posture to assure international shipping.

Subsequently, we also noticed a shift in the ISLs in the Arabian Sea as merchant vessels attempt to avoid piracy prone areas. Some of these new routes are 15 to 20 nautical miles off our coast and there have now been instances wherein regular fishermen have been mistaken as pirates. In this cycle of ‘cause-effect-cause’, there is a real danger of innocent casualties on account of mistaken identities. We have therefore issued advisories on this aspect.



If piracy is to be deterred, the present ‘risk versus reward quotient’ must be inverted exponentially by the development of appropriate laws and Rules of Engagement. These require both national and international consensus which can be facilitated by an exchange of the first hand operational experience of navies presently involved in anti piracy operations, beside ideas from legal and academic circles as well as the expertise and local knowledge of the regional players.



Naval forces have been facing a major dilemma about apprehending pirates at sea, due to the inadequacy or ineffective legal mechanisms to prosecute pirates who have been arrested. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 apprehended pirates benefit from the 'catch and release' policy followed by most navies till now. In India we are presently faced with the challenge of prosecuting over a hundred pirates apprehended by the Indian Navy and held in our country. We have moved to make new and effective domestic laws, and we hope to have these in place. I am sure similar challenges are being experienced by other countries as well and if we can share experiences in this regard, it will be a positive step in our collective fight against piracy.

While many of these are policy issues that may take time to craft consensus, there are operating procedures that can be adopted immediately.

The Best Management Practices that have been published suggest a variety of planning and operational practices for ship operators and masters of ships transiting through high risk areas. This is a noteworthy initiative which includes suggestions such as having high freeboards, proceeding at high speeds, use of barbed wire and water cannons, employment of sentries and establishing ‘citadels’ or ‘safe rooms’ onboard. One measure that is increasingly gaining preference is the use of armed security guards. In this context the maritime community has to be cautious of cases of mistaken identity which I had alluded to earlier.

To mitigate such risks we have been using acoustic devices that have long range capability with built inphraselators that facilitate passing instructions in Somali language.



Towards minimising the possibility of situational escalation we have resorted to a rather unique measure of using our ship’s life rafts. Once the mother ship has been forced to stop, the pirates and crew are made to leave the mother ship and get on the life rafts released by the naval ship. This ensures that the pirates cannot carry arms; after which, they can be brought onboard for further investigation.



The shipping community could consider installation of mechanisms to disable their engines once it becomes evident that pirates are succeeding in gaining control. This may discourage their attempts to commandeer the vessel with of course the attended risk of force escalation by the pirates on account of their frustrations. This reemphasises the importance of establishing a citadel onboard.



Finally, I would conclude with the reflection that, the international efforts towards combating piracy would benefit if there were fewer disparate task forces and independent naval operations. India’s relative autonomy of efforts towards combating piracy off Somalia can be traced to its preference for a UN mandated operations which we believe if adopted would holistically enhance the efficacy of operations. Our Prime Minister in his speech at the UN General Assembly last month called upon the comity of nations to evolve a comprehensive and effective response to the problem of piracy and has assured the world of India’s readiness to work with other nations in this regard.

With these thoughts I conclude my remarks.

This article was posted by Neptune Maritime Security via pib.nic.in. To find out more, please visit www.neptunemaritimesecurity.com

Tug JUPITER VI (Jupiter 6) and the latest position (Pelican Marine/Mumbai)

The Supreme Court of India took another step to prod the increasingly sleepy Indian administration towards doing their duty. The Honourable Courts have been at the forefront of what is called "judicial activism" for some time now, and matters have finally reached the doors of our babu log at Jahaz Bhavan, DG Shipping.

 

In a far-reaching decision, the Supreme Court permitted the family members of the missing tug JUPITER VI, to withdraw and take an interim compensation without prejudice to their rights of more compensation. As had been reported previously, this had been challenged by the owner's agents, with support from the DG Shipping.

 

The JUPITER VI was (or still is) an anchor handling tug which had a ship named the SATSUNG in tow for scrapping from WALVIS BAY towards India when she vanished in the middle of the Indian Ocean in September 2005 with with 10 Indians and 3 Ukrainians onboard  Like in the case of the REZZAK with 25 Indians onboard, the agent for the crew in both cases was the Mumbai based PELICAN, at that stage. At a later stage, James MaCintosh as representatives for the owners came on the scene,

 

Briefly, this is what is known about the JUPITER VI/JUPIER 6:- (kind courtesy http://users.skynet.be/p.woinin/sjup6.htm)

 

Built in 1975 by "Brodogradiliste Tito" at Mitrovica (Yard number 925) Gross tonnage 323 or 299, thus normally not a SOLAS ship, not subject to the ISM code. It indicates also that it was a rather small tug for a long ocean operation. It could be that the tonnage had been artificially kept low in order to escape SOLAS rules, but the list of previous owners shows only slight variation in the tonnage, the largest one being when the ship was under Philippines register (447gt). No owner will require to increase a tonnage, but the only pictures available suggest anyway large tug.
Tug/Anchor Handling/Supply , IMO n° 7391745, Gross tonnage 299 GRT, Netto tonnage 85 NRT
Lenght 39,93m(32,19), Beam 10,14m, Depth 4,611m(5,31)
Fighter fighting and salvage capabilities 
Main engine: B&W ALPHA type 16V23LU, total power 4690 bhp, 2 propellers with 4 blades
Bow thruster of 300 bhp
Generators: 2 diesels 
Speed 13,5kn, bollard pull 65 tons. 
July 2004: Harbour tug "SEA HUSKI" of Trinidad, damaged by fire was bought by "Jupiter Shipmanagement Inc" at Mumbai (IND), renamed JUPITER 6
Owner: PELMAR Shipping & Engineering Pvt Ltd, has an office in Mumbai.
Management: reported to be a company located in India or PELMAR itself? Crewing agent: Pelican Marine, Mumbai
Flag: ST.VINCENT & GRENADINES ( Previously reported as MARSHAL Islands & JAMAICA)
P&I: Unknown, it is not sure there was a P&I 
CLASS: Unknown
Crew: 3 Ukrainians, 10 Indians

 

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The JUPITER 6 left Cuba in November 2004 towing the bulker ITHOMI (Also called SATSANG, POINTING). Called Port of Spain, Trinidad, left 6 January 2005 and reached Fortaleza in Brazil on 18 March 2005. The tow made an average speed of 0.7 knots, not taking into account the eventual stop due to engine breakdown or other. There is also a strong current in the opposite direction north this part of the coast of South America, but almost no strong winds. After a short call, the tug left Fortaleza on 19 March and reach Walvis Bay in Namibia only three and a half months later, on 1 July 2005. The average speed during this crossing of the South Atlantic was 1.3 knots. Engine problems can be assumed to have delayed the vessel as it went to dry dock for extensive repairs.

 

The tug left Walvis Bay on 9 August 2005 and sent its last position on 5 September 2005: 35.52 S 23.26 E with as final destination the shipbreaking yard of Alang near Bhavnagar in the Indian state of Gujarat. An intermediate call in Mauritius was probably foreseen. On 7 September a large low centred on the Orange Free state provoked heavy thunderstorms. A sattelite picture shows that the associated troughs could have brought high wind from NE then NW in the area where the tug was sailing on 6 September. The suggestions that the JUPITER 6 could have been the victim of a pirate attack are ridiculous. These were never reported off South Africa, and the bad weather itself would discourage piracy. But it is well known that freak waves associated with a depression frequently occurs near the edge of the Agulhas bank.

 

On 25 September the towed ITHOMI was found drifting by bulker POSEIDON drifting in position by 37.48 S 28.59 E or 25.59 E. The tug SMIT AMANDLA was sent to recuperate the vessel. It found the tow line snapped and indication that two emergency towing wires had been rigged. Which means that the crew had a hard time to keep the ITHOMI in tow. On 8th October a distress signal from the ship emergency beacon (EPIRB) was received from the position 35,12S 24,17E. A plane was sent and observed traces of oil and some floating wreckage. The EPIRB was somehow recuperated and found to have manually activated. Remain the mystery of the cellular phone call from Namibia. One sailor phoned when the ship called Walvis bay in August 2005, and on 23 and 24 June 2006 one relative received a phone call from the same phone. She tried to call back but nobody answered. It is possible that the phone had been stolen or lost, and somebody in Namibia tried to use it.

Here follows a list of the crewmember prepared on basis of internet information.
BULGARU Y. Master(?), Ukrainian
ZELENETSCIY O. Chief Officer(?), Ukrainian
TKACH S. Chief Engineer (?), Ukrainian
KUMAR Raj, 2nd officer from India 
HOLIDATHAGOTI Hussein, crewmember from Lakshadweep, his mother died in November 2005
KATTAMPALLY Jose Matthew, electrician from the Indian state of Kerala
JAGOTHI Ibrahim Eduruman, crewmember from India
FAIKAGE Hassan, 20 year old, crewmember fron India
KOLUGEDORU Ali, crewmember, his father died around 30-6-2006
EDURUMANJAGOTHI Ibrahin, crewmember, his father died begin 2006
DAS Shri Subhas, cook from Calcuta.
MATHEW Jose, crewmember from India
PRAVIN Pandey, crewmember from Uttar Pradesh province, India.

Besides the crew from the Indian state of Kerala, 4 others are from Minicoy in the Lakshadweep islands, one from Calcuta and apparently one from the Uttar Pradesh province.

 

Apparently the Management did not provide much since the disappearance of the tug, otherwise the relatives would not have used the net to publish their desperate situation. The crew manager advised the Indian relatives only one month after it had lost contact with the crew.

 

It is almost certain that the tug was either sunk by bad weather, a large unexpected wave could have flooded the engine through an open door, or was rammed by the tow itself. Then some damage could have been found on the bow of the ITHOMI, a report from the SMIT AMANDLA would be welcome here. The most important clue remains poorly studied, the manual activation of the EPIRB 33 after the disappearance of teh tug. One report indicates that the battery life of the EPIRB is only 90 hours, thus it was not self-activated by sea water if the tug sank around the 5 September. One possibility is that the EPIRB remained afloat was likely found by a passing low freeboard ship, possibly a fishing boat that was fishing or sailing the area, but did not want to report its own position. But another and more distressing possibility was that the tug boat had been disabled by heavy seas around the 5 September and lost communications due to lack of electric power or wet instruments. As she was not so far from well frequented sailing routes, with plenty provisions the crew could have hoped to get help from a passing ship. This could be supported by a single piece of information made available by the owners "One fact so far not known was that a ship named Caroline reported sighting Jupiter 6 on 12/9 but no radio contact could be extablished, the position was in the proximity of the last reported position but without a tow. The owners were in a hurry to reach the scrap yard in India as they already had the next charter, a lucrative one, in place in the oil fields off Bombay.".

 

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What is more important here is the role of the owners/agents (Pelican Marine of Mumbai) and that of the Directorate General of Shipping. Following this case closely, it is apparent as day, that both these entities supported and continue to support each other in trying to ensure delay in payment of even interim compensation to family members of the complement onboard. To quote from the report in the Times of India:-

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-SC-prod-shipping-firm-pays-Rs-13cr-damages/articleshow/9304622.cms

 

"The bench interrupted him and said, "All these exhaustive provisions are not working. That is why these petitions are before us. The implementation of the act is lax. Why are these provisions not resorted to by the government during the numerous cases of pirate attacks on ships? Why is it only on paper?" The court also asked the Directorate General of Shipping to detail steps taken since 2006 to improve the fate of seamen and seafarers. 

In the petition, relatives alleged that they were stonewalled by the Centre, which had all along refused to divulge whether or not steps were being taken to collect information about the whereabouts of the missing crew."

 

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It is time that the office of the DG Shipping started taking a more pro-active role in protecting seafarers. Suggestions received include:-

 

# Indian seafarers to be sent on ships by RPS agents only if beneficial ownership is known. With the increasing investigations on all matters to do with tax havens, this is very important. In this case, for example, it has long been suspected that Pelican were owners as well as agents for this tug but ownership was hidden behind ofshore tax havens.

 

# Indian seafarers to be sent on ships by RPS agents with DGS authorisation only if full details of P&I, Class, insurance and adherence of vessel to all Indian and vessel flag state laws are adhered to. Safe Manning to be as per Indian standards, not as per flag, since some flags have abysmal safe manning certifications.

 

# Minimal compensation in case of any injury or loss of life by way of secured bank guarantees or insurance covers, be provided for in advance, before the Indian seafarer joins the said ship through RPS agents - and copies be provided to next of kin.

 

If just these three small steps could be taken, it would be a beginning, otherwise DGS can continue to listen to more raps on the knuckles from the Supreme Court in future.

 

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To the family members of the JUPITER VI, we extend our hand of support, and wish you more success.

 

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