- The High Court ordered the detention of MV Navios Venus.
- The court was hearing the petition filed by P. Rajamani, the owner of the mechanised fishing boat.
- A total of 17 fishermen on the fishing boat were fishing at the time of the incident.
- Two fishermen suffered serious injuries while other fishermen suffered minor injuries.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday ordered the detention of MV Navios Venus, a cargo ship registered in Panama, that was involved in a collision with a mechanised fishing boat off the coast near Colachel in Kanniyakumari district, as reported by The Hindu.
Cargo Ship Collision
P.Rajamani, the owner of the mechanised fishing boat, has filed a plea with the court.
He stated the incident happened approximately 3 p.m. on October 22 around 20 nautical miles off the coast near Colachel.
At the time of the tragedy, 17 people were fishing on the fishing boat.
Two fishermen were seriously injured, while others were only slightly hurt.
The cargo ship was said to be operating in breach of the 1972 International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea.
No Recourse
The petitioner requested that the ship be detained under Section 443 of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1958 (authority to detain foreign ships that have caused harm).
He claimed that if the vessel was allowed to sail outside of India’s territorial waters, the injured fishermen and petitioner would be left with no recourse.
The fact that a First Information Report had been filed about the collision at the Colachel police station was noted by Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy.
The cause of action appears prima facie to have arisen within the jurisdiction of the High Court, the court noted, because the incident occurred off the coast of Colachel.
The court postponed the hearing till November 26.
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Source: The Hindu
