Source: The Hindu

MUMBAI: Arrest of fishermen by Pakistan and India when they stray into each other’s waters is fast becoming a thing of the past with the establishment of a “hotline” between the Coast Guard and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency.

“Now, if an Indian fishing boat enters Pakistan waters, they call us to shepherd it back to our side instead of arresting the fishermen and we must have received about a dozen such calls in the past three months,” said Commander, Coast Guard Region (West), Inspector-General A. Rajasekhar

Facilitates discussions

The direct communication facilitates discussions between the two countries’ coast guards and the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi, Mr. Rajasekhar said.

He was addressing a press conference on board the advanced offshore patrol vessel (AOPV) CGS Sangram on Sunday at the end of an exercise.

The exercise, held to mark the Coast Guard Day that falls on February 1, saw several patrol vessels, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft displaying their skills.

Lure of better catch

Mr. Rajasekhar said it might not have always been the case that Indian fishing boats inadvertently crossed into the Pakistani side. They could have been lured by better catch. “The boats, fitted with GPS and other communication systems cannot be so mistaken.”

The Indian fishing boat fleet was much larger than that of Pakistan. Therefore, the incidence of their involvement was comparatively much higher.

Regular feature

It used to be a regular affair between the two countries to arrest fishermen and often their actions were retaliatory.

They would repatriate the arrested fishermen without their boats after keeping them in jail for months, and sometimes even over a year. But the harrowing time for the fishermen would continue even after returning home as they would have lost their boats, the means of their livelihood, he said.

Though the hotline idea was mooted over two years ago, it started working only last November. Both sides were now talking in terms of mutual aid in joint search and rescue and even pollution control.

Now Pakistan figured among the countries with whose maritime forces the Coast Guard cooperates. Other countries were Japan, Korea, the United States, Maldives, Mauritius, the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Running aground

Mr. Rajasekhar said the incidence of ships running aground off the west coast was going up alarmingly. During the last monsoon, 27 ships ran aground, compared to 20 vessels the previous year.

The Coast Guard ensured that these incidents did not cause any pollution and rescued most of the crew.

But the old vessels sailing in the Indian waters and calling on ports posed a great danger to safety at sea.

Mr. Rajasekhar said the Coast Guard had taken up the matter with the Director-General of Shipping to ensure that more than 25-year-old ships were not allowed into the Indian waters.

Air enclave

An air enclave for the force would be operational at Porbandar, Gujarat, in April 2008. Besides, the Coast Guard would acquire an airstrip at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

It had an air enclave in Goa and maintained a squadron here. The Western Region was expected to get the Presidential Colours soon.

The Coast Guard would add another AOPV to its fleet in March next. It would be followed by one more. This would raise the number of the fleet to five.

Besides, three pollution control vessels, 11 interceptor boats and five fast patrol vessels were in the pipeline.

The Coast Guard was also looking for a new aircraft for maritime reconnaissance, he said.

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Tags: Coast Guards, Fishermen, Hotline, India, Pakistan