indian_foxhound
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CHENNAI: Two German sailors
were arrested on Tuesday, ten
days after their cargo ship
collided with a fishing boat off
the Chennai coast leading to one
fisherman's death, bringing back memories of the MV Enrico Lexie
case in which Italian marines are
facing trial for killing two
fishermen off the Kerala coast last
year. A city court later released
the German seamen on bail while restraining them from leaving the
shores. Anandan, 45, a fisherman from
Kasimedu, drowned while two of his friends were rescued after cargo vessel MV
Grietj, flying the Antigua Barbuda flag, rammed
into their boat on March 16, around 10 nautical
miles (18.5 km) off the Chennai coast. The Indian
Coast Guard and mercantile marine department
soon zeroed in on the ship. A police officer said Albrecht Wolsgang (46),
captain of the vessel, and Steffen Hinksoth (38),
second officer, were arrested under charges of
causing death due to negligence. The two sailors
are from Munich. While granting bail, the court
directed them to surrender their passports and stay at the Seafarers Club at the Chennai port until
further orders. Sources said an underwater inspection of the
vessel at Chennai port did not yield any visible
evidence of a collision, but there was
circumstantial evidence to arrest the seamen.
International maritime conventions empower the
local police to initiate legal action against a ship involved in an accident within the territorial
waters which stretch to 12 nautical miles (22km)
from the shores. Elaborating on the circumstantial evidence, a
mercantile marine department official said MV
Grietj was the only vessel which was in the area
at the time of the accident. "Moreover, the
vessel's VDR (voyage data recorder) which
should have recorded details of the ship's movement was found to be not working. This
could mean that it had a mechanical fault or it
was tampered with," he said. The two rescued fishermen -Viji (35) and
Santhosh (19)- had said in their statement that
the collision took place after their boat developed
a snag. "Around 4.30am, when we were
repairing the boat, the vessel suddenly appeared
close to us," said Santosh. "We all dived and surfaced after the ship passed. Anandan was not
to be seen." Anandan's body was found floating
in the sea five days later. The ship's owners have
reportedly agreed to pay compensation to
Anandan's family.
http://www.timesofindia.com/india/G...on-off-Chennai-coast/articleshow/19229604.cms
were arrested on Tuesday, ten
days after their cargo ship
collided with a fishing boat off
the Chennai coast leading to one
fisherman's death, bringing back memories of the MV Enrico Lexie
case in which Italian marines are
facing trial for killing two
fishermen off the Kerala coast last
year. A city court later released
the German seamen on bail while restraining them from leaving the
shores. Anandan, 45, a fisherman from
Kasimedu, drowned while two of his friends were rescued after cargo vessel MV
Grietj, flying the Antigua Barbuda flag, rammed
into their boat on March 16, around 10 nautical
miles (18.5 km) off the Chennai coast. The Indian
Coast Guard and mercantile marine department
soon zeroed in on the ship. A police officer said Albrecht Wolsgang (46),
captain of the vessel, and Steffen Hinksoth (38),
second officer, were arrested under charges of
causing death due to negligence. The two sailors
are from Munich. While granting bail, the court
directed them to surrender their passports and stay at the Seafarers Club at the Chennai port until
further orders. Sources said an underwater inspection of the
vessel at Chennai port did not yield any visible
evidence of a collision, but there was
circumstantial evidence to arrest the seamen.
International maritime conventions empower the
local police to initiate legal action against a ship involved in an accident within the territorial
waters which stretch to 12 nautical miles (22km)
from the shores. Elaborating on the circumstantial evidence, a
mercantile marine department official said MV
Grietj was the only vessel which was in the area
at the time of the accident. "Moreover, the
vessel's VDR (voyage data recorder) which
should have recorded details of the ship's movement was found to be not working. This
could mean that it had a mechanical fault or it
was tampered with," he said. The two rescued fishermen -Viji (35) and
Santhosh (19)- had said in their statement that
the collision took place after their boat developed
a snag. "Around 4.30am, when we were
repairing the boat, the vessel suddenly appeared
close to us," said Santosh. "We all dived and surfaced after the ship passed. Anandan was not
to be seen." Anandan's body was found floating
in the sea five days later. The ship's owners have
reportedly agreed to pay compensation to
Anandan's family.
http://www.timesofindia.com/india/G...on-off-Chennai-coast/articleshow/19229604.cms
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