What's your income tax and service tax status as an Indian seafarer?

Before you read further and before I proceed further, it is important to point out that this is by way of my understanding of a very complex subject drawn basis my research, and is in no way supposed to be an advisory or comment or guidance. PLEASE do consult your own tax advisor under all circumstances. I am not a professional tax person and this does not claim to be anything other than my views, issued without guarantee. This was the fine print.


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As a seafarer, when was the last time you looked closely at the TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) Certificate given to you by the shipowner, agent or shipmanagement company> Broadly, this could have been:-


# A Form 16 - which makes you, in aspects, an "employee" earning an "income" from the company or entity issuing you the Form 16. As per a variety of laws, rules and more, the said employer MUST also adhere to issues like leave wages, Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) adherences, Articles of Agreement while onboard ship if applicable, the MUI or IMB or similar agreement on perquisites, Income Tax Act and the various aspects thereof. No need, however, of worrying about Service Tax here - as of now, and to my best understanding, when working on Indian flag ships.


For those claining tax exemption on NRI status, and having no Form 16 or 16A, this may be helpful too, towards a better understanding of Section 5(2) and related.


http://taxworry.com/is-salary-received-in-nre-account-in-india-for-services-rendered-outside-india-by-a-non-resident-taxable-in-india/


# A Form 16A - which makes you, for this purpose, a recipient of either a "fees for professional or technical services" or "payments to contractors and sub- contractors". And here, you are most increasingly over the last few years, going to be liable for charging service tax to the company that made these payments to you.


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So, what's Service Tax in India all about, then?


Here are the FAQs on service tax:-


http://www.servicetax.gov.in/faq-29sept11.pdf


Q:- "Who is liable to pay service tax?
Ans:- Normally, the "person‟ who provides the taxable service on receipt of service charges is responsible for paying the Service Tax to the Government (Sec.68 (1) of the Act). However, in the following situations, the receiver of the Services is responsible for the payment of Service tax : (1) Where taxable services are provided by foreign service providers with no establishment in India , the recipient of such services in India is liable to pay Service Tax.


Q:- Are seafarers exempted?
Ans:- NO.


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Now, what is the shipping industry in India, doing about this?


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As far as the Indian National Ship Owners Association (INSA) is concerned, this judgement pertaining to Service Tax referring to them may be of interest, and please note, obviously service tax will apply to resident Indians also.


http://taxworry.com/is-salary-received-in-nre-account-in-india-for-services-rendered-outside-india-by-a-non-resident-taxable-in-india/


http://www.servicetax.gov.in/st-cirmainpg.htm


(quote) 


""Sub: Applicability of service tax on taxable services provided by a non-resident or a person located outside India to a recipient in India-reg.


Kind attention is invited to instruction F No. 275/7/2010-CX8A, dated 30.6.2010, wherein the Board had communicated its view that services tax on a taxable service received in India, when provided by a non-resident/person located outside India, would be applicable on reverse charge basis with effect from 1.1.2005, and that the ratio of judgement in M/s Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) case [2009 (13) STR 235 (Bom)] would not apply to such cases. Further, direction was issued to field formations to defend the levy of service tax on such services for the period on or after 1.1.2005, as post INSA judgment, it has been held by the High Courts/Tribunal in a large number of cases, applying ratio thereof, that service tax on such services is leviable only w.e.f. 18.4.2006. However, the appeals filed by the department before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, for defending the levy of service tax on such services w.e.f. 1.1.2005, have been dismissed recently (subsequent to the issuance of said instruction dated 30.6.2010) in the following cases.






(i) SLP (C) No. 29539 of 2010 in CCE Vs Bhandari Hosiery Exports Ltd


(ii) SLP (C)No. 18160 of 2010 in CST Vs Unitech Ltd


(iii) SLP (C) No. 34208/09 of 2010 in UOI Vs S R Batliboi & Co.


(iv) SLP (C)No. 328/332 of 2011 in UOI Vs Ernst & Young


(v) SLP (C) No. 25687-25688/2011 in CCE Vs Needle Industries


(vi) SLP (C) No. 25689-25690/2011 in UOI Vs SKM Engg Products






Further, Review Petition No. 1686 of 2011 filed in the case of Bhandari Hosiery has also been dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 18/8/2011.






2. In view of the aforementioned judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the service tax liability on any taxable service provided by a non resident or a person located outside India, to a recipient in India, would arise w.e.f. 18.4.2006, i.e., the date of enactment of section 66A of the Finance Act, 1994. The Board has accepted this position. Accordingly, the instruction F No. 275/7/2010-CX8A, dated 30.6.2010 stands rescinded.






3. Appropriate action may please be taken accordingly in the pending disputes.


Yours faithfully,










(G. D. Lohani)


Director (Legal)


Copy for information to:


(i) Member (Budget)/Member (ST)


(ii) Joint Secretary (TRU-II)/Commissioner (ST)-CBEC"" 


(unquote)


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Please consult your rax advisor and PLEASE get opinions in writing. If your ship-owner company or ship-manager company or any of the multiple via medias in between say something else, then please take it in writing too.


AND please note:- dual "agreements" of the sort that are being used on Indian ships are just adding to your liabilities. Please be careful about those, also.


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Such are the strange ways of our Indian Government.

In September 2005 the Government of India announced by a gazzette notification the "Entry of Vessels into Ports Rules, 2005." Amongst other things, it spelt out the provisions for insurance on foreign ships entering India, to cover pollution and wreck removal.

In July 2006, the Ministry of Shipping, TR Baalu presiding, issued another notice putting the above Rule into abeyance till further orders.

A response to an RTI on this subject is awaited. Interim if anybody has any internal information on this, anonymity and confidentialities assured.

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

e-Navigation and the Human Element - a report

Speaker after speaker at the Nautical Institute seminar on "E-Navigation and the Human Element" (New Delhi, 6th December 2011) waxed eloquent and more on the wonders of technology available onboard and more in the near future. Nobody, least of all your correspondent, denies the simple fact that new technology has to be introduced on ships to if nothing else, keep up with the real world out there. As a simple matter of fact, up until the '70s and even '80s, it was a given fact that merchant shipping along with civil aviation was ahead of the curve globally, as far as being early adopters of technology was concerned.

To just cite a few examples - merchant ships had facsimile machines using heat resistant paper, echo sounders using sonar, radars which moved on from valves and thence to double as well as multi sided PCBs, economisers later on known as turbo chargers ashore and environmental adherences well before these wonderful concepts came ashore in the '70s. The first computer many of us saw outside of IITs in India were on ships in the '70s and '80s. We had technology aboard to make pure water, serve us with clean electricity and provide us with brilliantly filtered air whether we were in the middle of the ocean or in the heavily polluted waters in some parts of the then developed world.

And then, somewhere down the line, technology on ships simply slipped behind the curve when compared with the rest of the world, as owners and the even more ruthless "ship-managers" along with compliant state authorities went along as accomplices bent on cutting costs on almost everything in the name of cost savings. Leave alone reducing head count, vicious chops were made not just as far as quality of life was concerned onboard, but also in keeping up with change and technological growth ashore - why, after all, was something needed if it was not legislated was the approach. It was almost like the attitude of truck owners - why improve matters for drivers, if all they have to do is deliver the goods to the other side - and if you make them suffer, they will work better.

For those of us lucky enough to sail with some ownership companies which thought otherwise, it was wonderful - as early as 1978, some of us who had sailed with Arya Lines, Blue Star or WorldWide, had worked on computers onboard, used situation display radars with television type colour monitors and were adhering to environmental norms ahead of what the ports demanded in those days. But then, it suddenly went bust, as the lowest common denominator fundamentals caught up with shipping globally, and from a career of choice, seafaring deteriorated to one of last resort.

One major reason for this drop-back as far as technology was concerned, ofcourse, was the advent of the internet globally around early 1990 and widely in India by 1995 - most Indian flag and FOC ships still don't have broadband on board, and the global figure for broadband onboard is below 7% of all merchant cargo ships. Even villages in totally backward countries have better penetration, never mind middle class homes in India, urban or rural. Likewise, the world of environmental compliances and adherences raced ahead ashore, while at sea it became a conspiracy of magic pipes and get the work done - never mind the pollution - even by hoodwinking everybody and by filling up more and more forms and reisters. Sad, but true.

The other reason, was simpler - the big recession in shipping in the mid-'80s brought forth a generation of seafarers who were simply not willing to rock the boat. Some of those same people form the backbone of senior seafarers onboard today, and they know the truths - the administration and unions will not back them, PSC in many countries are in the pockets of the owners and managers, and when it comes to a job, the typical seafarer is concerned only with what his wages will be like. And add to that the absolute backwardness of the training and certification system - the less said about that, the better. And on top of everything else, the famous "blacklist" now does better and goes global and even receives official patronage from the Government offices in shipping in India.

Ever wondered why there is no blacklist of owners and ship-managers? Simple - where else would the government babus go after they retire?

In the midst of all this, we now have a scenario where electorate generated noise and static in many countries is pushing administrations to the wall, and there is only so much mileage that can be achieved by criminalising the seafarer on board. The spotlight - and oh yes, shipowners, secretive creatures at the best of times hate the spotlight - is now looking for fresh victims, and after the recent episode of the RENA going aground off Taurongo in New Zealand, it is brilliantly clear to all that something is very wrong if ships have navigating bridges which resemble a hotch-potch of add-ons and ship-owners consider seafarers to be certificates acquired by any means who eat food.

A ship's bridge today is the best example of rampant confusion caused by a total lack of standarisation of design. Keep adding more stuff, keep deleting more people, and 100+ hours a week are standard. To that, add the simple fact that in many cases, the first exposure a seafarer has to a totally strange and new environment called his workplace and home, is often at the end of a long trans-continental flight, in the back of the plane known as cattle class, and thence straight to the airport without even a break. And then expected, often, to run a takeover as well as the regular business of work, right away. But this is all old hat, we seafarers know that this is our lot, and we do manage.

What is new here is that the "human element", which is the new name for seafarers, is now to hopefully be given due recognition by the maritime community ashore, at least up on the bridge, by something called "e-Navigation". Here's the IMO definition, and like everything from IMO, it goes into prose that is not just prolix but also confusing.

http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Safety/Navigation/Pages/eNavigation.aspx

"The aim is to develop a strategic vision for e-navigation, to integrate existing and new navigational tools, in particular electronic tools, in an all-embracing system that will contribute to enhanced navigational safety (with all the positive repercussions this will have on maritime safety overall and environmental protection) while simultaneously reducing the burden on the navigator. As the basic technology for such an innovative step is already available, the challenge lies in ensuring the availability of all the other components of the system, including electronic navigational charts, and in using it effectively in order to simplify, to the benefit of the mariner, the display of the occasional local navigational environment. E-navigation would thus incorporate new technologies in a structured way and ensure that their use is compliant with the various navigational communication technologies and services that are already available, providing an overarching, accurate, secure and cost-effective system with the potential to provide global coverage for ships of all sizes."


The seminar on e-Navigation and the Human Element organised by the Nautical Association's Delhi Chapter, held on the 6th of December, tried to delve further into the subject. The complete seminar has been video - recorded and the organisers have promised to put it up on the internet as well as web-stream it live next time in keeping with the theme - please wait for the information, till then you can check out the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vm2827/ as well as chronologically in reverse order on photostream counted from here:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/vm2827/6465863359/in/photostream/

It would take a thick book, and defeat the purpose of e-Navigation onboard, to try and do justice to the various schools of thought propagated so well by people who had prepared very diligently to provide us with their views as well as those from the audience who actively gave theirs in what was an eminently inter-active experience - far removed from the usual "talk down to the audience" type of seminars that are usually the rule. As a matter of fact, if you were a seafarer and in or around Delhi, then you missed a great event by not being there - hats off to the organisers for that.

Those who spoke at the function, were:-

Capt. I.V. Solanki, who gave a welcome address, and outlined the proceedings.
Capt. M.M. Saggi, Nautical Advisor to the Indian government, who gave an overview of the present scenario on technology upgrading in all aspects of shipping in and around India.
A keynote address by Mr. John Erik Hagen, who is the Director NCA at IMO and Chairman of the committee on e-Navigation, and spoke about the IMO role therein.
A short speech by Ms. Kirsti Stotsvik, Director General of the Norwegian Coastal Administration, outlining a view from Scandinavia of the situation as they see it.
A very interesting point to point kind of talk by Capt. David Patraiko, Director of Projects of the Nautical Institute along with some basic ideas on the concept of e-Navigation as seen from a future bridge.
An extremely lively delivery by Capt. Rod Short of GlobalMET, straight shooter and now the seminar was finally heading toward the human element part of things.
A valid presentation on the new-generation seafarer by Ms. Naomi Rewari of ARI, which brought out some straight talking on the difference between fact and perceptions on young people at sea.
And then, the first of two open sessions, where the debate shifted from technology towards the human element, and back and forth.

All this, very cleanly moderated by Capt. Rakesh Saxena and Capt. I. Kharbanda, and with answers to some tough questions well fielded by those on the dais.

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After a sumptuous lunch, the gathering reconvened, and this was unlike at other seminars where people tend to drop off. The organisers, in another brilliant master stroke, brought two seafarers from the modern generation "Y", Sumit Puri (ASM candidate) and T.P. Shivaramakrishnan (Chief Officer) to speak on the subject. They chose to deliver their valid views, followed by Capt. S Butalia's excellent presentation on the Ship Manager's perspective.

This was followed by another interactive session co-ordinated by Capt. S. Verma of Ocean's XV - lively and educational.

But, and this is how it is at all such seminars, the one main topic of discussion and clarification which pertains to fatigue as well as quality of life on board was carefully skirted. Every attempt to stir the pot a bit by yours truly as well as the effervescent Capt. Rod Short from GlobalMET, was sweetly snooked by wellmeaning friends ashore.

Thus ended on a warm and friendly note the Delhi seminar on e-Navigation and the Human Element.

If you have any views, comments, suggestions on the subject, please write in to the author or directly to the Nautical Institute, IMO or your employers.

Sarosh Zaiwalla/s views on piracy and more

Cortesy ecoterra status on piracy dated 27/28 november 2011.

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MO Representative Speaks Out On The Piracy Of Freight Shipping Off Somalia (HandyShippingGuide)
Anger at the Current Situation Pervades the Industry Worldwide
Our article of a couple of days ago told of the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which is currently meeting in London and mentioned in passing that piracy remains high on the agenda. Now Sarosh Zaiwalla, a specialist in shipping law and a Permanent Representative to the IMO has commented on the current situation as regards the hijacking of bulk freight and container vessels passing through the troubled waters of the Gulf of Aden and beyond.
Mr Zaiwalla’s comments illustrate the increasing frustration which the global shipping community feels as year after year the problem of piracy worsens whilst little seems to be happening, either to address the political problems in Somalia, or to take internationally coordinated steps to deal with the situation directly using an armed response. Speaking to the Handy Shipping Guide Mr Zaiwalla said:
“In October, I addressed the Indian Shipping Summit in Mumbai. As a commercial lawyer who specialises in Shipping Arbitrations, I thought I would be asked about cargo disputes and Bills of Lading. The Indian Shipping Community however, despite always being a profoundly commercial group, had one thing on their minds that overtook even their bottom lines.
“International World Trade relies on the ability of traders to transport huge amounts of goods on giant moving structures across the most hostile seas in the world. These traders face enough challenges from nature and ill-fortune. It is nothing short of outrageous that, over the last few years, ship owners and seafarers have been forced to add the very real threat of violent piracy to the dangers of their normal lives. Piracy is a major threat not only to the shipping industry, but also to peace throughout the globe – if the world does nothing to stand up to people who use AK-47s and grenades to take the property of others, then what will stop thieves adopting the same tactics on the land?
“The Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia is now almost a no-go area for international ships. The most recent large scale act of piracy took place during the Indian summit, when the Italian ‘Monte Cristo’ was captured in this area. The crew managed to hide in their citadel, while the rest of the world wondered what could be done. It is a matter of great satisfaction that an international NATO force took charge and freed those men, but that is something that has not happened enough. More commonly, ransoms are paid for seafarers and cargo, meaning that expensive ‘Kidnap and Ransom’ insurance policies have added to the cost of shipping.
“The individual navy vessels from different countries that attempt to counter piracy are few in number and grossly inadequate for the task of patrolling the whole of the Indian Ocean. There is at present no coordinated approach. As a result, pirates are often captured only to be fed and returned to Somalia, free to go back to their old work of piracy.
“If international forces are to coordinate in order effectively to tackle piracy in the long term, I believe that they must combine their efforts into a UN Naval task force. This force could then concentrate on patrolling the coast of Somalia, from where the vast majority of the pirates emerge. I hope that we will all be surprised by the effect that could be brought about by such a force monitoring all small vessels leaving Somalia’s coastline to ensure they were genuine fishing vessels.
“With that in mind, I have used my position as a permanent member of the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”) to force the issue. I had intended to move a resolution at the IMO for this purpose, but I will not now do so, as the Secretary General of the IMO has informed me that he himself with be moving this resolution. At the IMO’s General Meeting in November I hope to contribute to the pressure that will be required to create a Naval task force that may be able to save many lives, as well as a lot of money, by taking control of the Indian Ocean back from the pirates.
“Short of the creation of a UN naval taskforce, it is not going to be practical to control the plague of piracy. The Somalian pirates are effectively the same as any other terrorist. The only difference is that while international terrorists have so far indulged in acts of terrorism for the sake of their professed political causes, Somalia’s pirates indulge in terrorism only to fill their own pockets.
“Arming ocean-going vessels will go some way towards dealing with pirates, but for this course of action to work, many obstacles must be overcome. For example, Egypt will not allow vessels passing through the Suez Canal to carry on-board guns and ammunition. What also is of concern is the growing ‘industry’ around piracy. The total losses to the International Trade Community on account of piracy in the year so far is estimated to be US$2billion. Out of this US$2 billion, only about US$110 million represents ransom paid to the pirates, just over 1% of the total loss. The rest of the loss is mainly represented by increased insurance premiums, the cost of adapting ships to higher security standards and payments made to the specialist security companies which have sprung up to deal with piracy. At the end of the day, this additional cost falls on the consumer: they increase the freight charges and, consequently, the cost of the goods to the ultimate consumer.
“The 21st Century requires an enlightened approach to combat evils like piracy. It requires the countries of the world to come together, whether or not they share a coastline, to eradicate once and for all the Somalian piracy which has emerged in recent years. Any dragging of feet now would cause serious harm to the safety and livelihood of many innocent people, and would play right into the pirates’ hands.”
Mr Zaiwalla’s views, and those of his Indian shipping industry colleagues are perfectly reasonable but many other observers will be concerned at the thought that more freighters passing through these troubled waters might wish to carry arms, a move which may well lead to an escalation of violence by people who will have no hesitation in using extreme tactics as the disturbing video’s linked to one of our recent articles demonstrated.
Ideally a political solution to the troubles of Somalia together with an officially commissioned military response would be found, but, with the eyes of the world concentrated on a seemingly worsening financial global economy, the question will be if and when impassioned pleas from the likes of Mr Zaiwalla and his IMO colleagues can move this terrible situation on to a better place.

A tribute to Cross Island Bombay - from the TS RAJENDRA

Previously published at MoneyLife

http://www.moneylife.in/article/wwii-shell-found-off-mumbai-heres-what-your-media-cant-tell-you-so-we-dredge-out-the-details/21087.html

WWII shell found off Mumbai: Here’s what your media can’t tell you, so we dredge out the details

November 02, 2011 01:15 PM

Veeresh Malik

Many of the stories on the WWII shell found off Mumbai have simply bombed. No, this shell will not cause any harm to the city, not any more than the Diwali firecrackers which tried their best to shatter the peace. But why was the shell undiscovered for so long? An insider take

Cross Island in Mumbai has been an integral part of the life of any seafarer who has been trained on the TS Rajendra. It is also very important from the point of view of those heading out by boat from the New Ferry Wharf (aka Bhaucha Dhakka), not too far from Mazagaon, or for those heading in or out of the now soon to be filled-up and yet un-renamed Princes and Victoria Docks complex of the Mumbai Port Trust. Most of all, much of the support fleet for the oilrigs operate in this channel, and around this island.

Uninhabited largely due to a total lack of fresh water, and with added stories on how it was haunted by the ghosts of Portuguese soldiers who were done in when the British took over Bombay, even the local fishermen chose to avoid it. We were anchored not too far, and would sometimes take a sailing boat close to it, but had strict instructions never to make landfall as the foreshore was also rumoured to have quicksand pits. There were also some Indian Navy instructions on the subject. That also kept the tourists off.

The real reason why Cross Island never made it as an offshore destination or to the "A" list of tourist destinations in a land-starved Mumbai, however, is simple. The waters around it are extremely polluted, and for some reason also very corrosive—just running your hand in the sea as you went past in a sailboat or motorboat was enough to give you an acidic itch for days afterwards. Also, it stinks, the seawater in this area. This was in the mid ‘70s. It is said to have only become worse in recent years, as the bay gets silted up, and the tides are not strong enough to replenish the water there. Typically, the water is so dirty, that it is like in the Sunderbans (Bengal)—you cannot see your fingers if you put your hand in. But in the Sunderbans, there is always freshwater coming from upriver, and the lack of visibility is due to mud.

There are also a few cannons lying scattered around, as well as what looked like the remnants of one large gun of the howitzer variety on that island. Again, nobody dared remove them, despite the existence of one of the largest scrap-yards in the area, because of the stories surrounding the haunting of Cross Island. And the main story was that if anybody tried to go to the Island after dark, the old cannons and guns would come alive, with the wrath of the soldiers who had apparently been left there to die.

Another reason: Cross Island had also reportedly been used for target practice by the British in the years leading up to, during, and after WWII. And there were some terrible stories around that, too.

A cartographer’s report for the waters around Mumbai mentions how siltation for a variety of reasons has caused the Thane creek, upstream from and north of Cross Island, to become more like a swamp. This again is very true—till as recently as a decade ago, huge barges along with tugs could come as far inland as the old Thane Creek road bridge. Now you are lucky if you spot a small fishing boat and that too during high tide in the same spots.

One such cartographer’s report can be found here, and makes for interesting reading:

http://mycoordinates.org/cartography-as-a-tool-in-study-of-dredging/

So when it was first reported that a Jaisu Shipping-operated dredger had recovered a WWII relic, a shell with about 100 pounds of explosives in it, my thoughts went immediately to the stories we had heard. And discounted them right away, because little further enquiries confirmed that this was, in all likelihood, a shell for the BL 5.5" artillery howitzer, and probably a relic of some firing practice exercise, where one of these shells had simply failed to detonate.

And sat there in the seabed, right under the port channel, while hundreds of ships, boats and other vessels just went about their business—day in and day out—in one of the busiest ports of the world.

But then, that information also fell flat—it was not likely that this sort of an artillery shell would have been used for target practice on an island so close to the city. Besides, there were no available records of the Port of Bombay having been equipped with such an artillery battery facing inwards. The howitzers used for this shell, if not properly aimed, had the capacity to go right across to the other side of Bombay, where now lies Chembur and even in the war days existed an oil jetty called "Pir Pau".

Or was this from the famous Fort Stikine, since her manifest does indicate that she was carrying these shells, too? This could be probable, considering that the port dredging operations are still pulling gold out of the same waters, traced back to the same explosion in April 1944.

Every which way, a single shell that has been lying undisturbed for decades, is not likely to cause more damage than a big hole in the ground. Certainly not enough to endanger a city.

But what it does reflect, from a commercial point of view, is the way our authorities have neglected the dredging and subsequent growth of India's premier port. Waking up now to this need, after depths available in the area went down from 8-10 metres during WWII, to as low as 3-5 metres, is ample evidence of the neglect that Mumbai Port has faced.

It is quite likely that more such debris and material, whether from the Fort Stikine or otherwise, will continue to be found in and around the approaches to the various berths in Mumbai Port, and that some of these may well be explosive in nature and will require great care. Many of my colleagues have gone over those waters hundreds of times—and people continue to do so.

It is important to dredge the approach channel. It is even more important to clear the channel of all such dangerous debris and explosives. But it is not likely to cause immense harm to the rest of Mumbai. Unless some idiot brings it ashore and deliberately tries to set it off.

Why such an explosive was not carried away by boat itself to the Naval Station will remain an unanswered question. Presumably there is a brass or metal value which was being ascertained, till it was realised that this shell was still very much alive. Because, and in this case as the son of an Army officer, a 5.5" shell is a very interesting "decoration piece", often found amongst the pride of possessions of elderly retired Armed Forces officers. Others would love to have them too, but they simply aren't available any more.

But they don't have the explosive inside it. And this one did.

No 'decoration piece' is really worth the effort—if it is still packed!