Udupi: Missing fishing boat not traced even after 12 days, hijack by sea pirates suspected

Udupi, 27 Dec 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ boat of Malpe near here, which went for deep sea fishing with eight fishermen, is not traced even after 12 days.

The family members of the fishermen on the missing boat are spending anxious moments worrying about the safety of their men.

Many boats from Malpe have searched for the missing boat since three to four days but could not locate it. The coast guard teams of Mangaluru, Goa and Maharashtra are continuing search for the boat through helicopter survey. This information was given by deputy director of fisheries Parshwanath.

One interceptor boat from Karwar, one rapid patrol boat each from Goa and Kavaratti are on the search as well. Maharashtra coastal police and some fishermen from Malpe are searching for the missing boat under the leadership of Karwar coastal police in places like Devgad, Ratnagiri and Vengoorla where the river meets the sea. This information was given by Sathish Kunder, president of Malpe Fishermen's Association.

This is the first incident of boat along with the fishermen is missing in deep sea under the limits of Malpe. The family members of the missing boatmen are seeking divine help of gods, goddesses and daivas.

Hijack by sea pirates suspected, says DC

Priyanka Mary Francis, deputy commissioner (DC) of the district says that other fishermen have expressed fears that the missing boat might have been hijacked.

Speaking to the reporters the DC said, "If the boat had sunk, then there must have been some debris. As no debris or clues of sinking are found so far, this might be a case of hijack. An appeal is made to make an aerial survey in this regard,"

"Coast guard and police are searching for the missing boat. There is a clue that it might be somewhere in the region of Maharashtra border but no definite information is available," she added.

It might be recalled the missing ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ boat left Malpe fishing port on December 13 along with five other boats. After 1 am of December 15, ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ lost contact with other boats. The rest of the five boats and several boats started searching for Suvarna Tribhuja. They thought that it might come to shore on December 22. But when the boat failed to report, they complained to the police about the same.

Out of the seven people on the missing boat, two each are from Malpe, Bhatkal and Kumta and one is from Manki.

Fishing stopped in Malpe

The deep sea fishing boats of Malpe fishing port are stopping the fishing one by one due to the missing of ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ boat. The boats that are returning to the Malpe port after deep sea fishing are not venturing out for fishing again. More than 350 boats have been already anchored in the Malpe port.