The Indian Coast Guard is accused of detaining 2 ships and their crew. The Indian Coast Guard is accused of arresting 79 sailors and two fishing vessels from Bangladesh’s maritime territory. The fishing vessels FV Meghna-5 and FV Laila-2 were seized on Monday, December 9, from the vicinity of the Indian maritime border in the Hiron Point neighborhood of Khulna, according to the Department of Shipping’s owners and sources.
The Indian Coast Guard: SR Fishing is the owner of FV Laila-2, while Chattogram-based C&A Agro Limited is the owner of FV Meghna-5. The two boats were fishing in the deep sea close to the Hiron Point region of the Khulna belt, C&A Agro Limited Executive Director Suman Sen told the media. He said, “On Monday afternoon, we learned that the Indian Coast Guard detained the vessels along with their crew.” He claimed that after learning this, he got in touch with the Coast Guard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and other pertinent agencies.
He added that FV Laila-2 had 42 crew members and fisherman on board, compared to 37 on FV Meghna-5. He said they reported being in good shape when they were contacted on Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
The event happened Monday afternoon as the vessels were fishing in the Bay of Bengal, south of the mainland of the Khulna province, according to Director General of Shipping Commodore Mohammad Maksud Alam, who spoke to The Daily Ittefaq. The Bangladeshi fishing boats were then operating inside Bangladesh’s territorial seas. Relevant officials from the two nations are now debating the issue.
The two Bangladeshi vessels and their crew were arrested by the Indian Coast Guard on suspicion of fishing inside India’s maritime borders, according to the most recent reports.
According to a different source, the owners of the two fishing vessels have provided the Marine Fisheries Department with written proof that they were operating within Bangladesh’s maritime borders.
