Indian ship prime suspect in the hit-and-run case

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The Indian merchant vessel, MV Prabhu Daya, en route from Goa to Singapore, has emerged the prime suspect in the collision that wrecked a fishing boat 30 km off Arthunkal on the Alappuzha coast early on Thursday.

Sources said the vessel was spotted and asked to report to Kochi port. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have launched a massive operation to physically verify vessels under suspicion. The vessel is likely to reach Kochi tomorrow.

Two fishermen died in the collision at 12.55 am on Thursday. The Navy has been searching to locate missing deck hands. They were part of a seven-member crew, set out from Sakthikulangara in Kollam, for the outer seas last Sunday on the nearly 70-ft-long mechanized boat.

Navy sources, however, said here on Friday that two other ships were also under investigation. “We cannot divulge names of ships now because the procedure we adopt for the probe is sensitive and we do not want to damage anyone's reputation unnecessarily,” a Navy spokesman said.

But, according to some reports, Prabhu Daya, a bulk carrier owned by Tolani Shipping Company, in Mumbai, which is flying a Singapore flag, has been asked to call at Kochi part as part of the investigation.

Southern Naval Command's INS Sarvekshak, fitted with side-scan sonar (sound-operated navigation and ranging), capable of underwater scan, searched the site of the accident for wreckage of the fishing vessel and possibly trapped bodies.

Coast Guard vessels ICGS Savitribai Phule, ICGS Lakshmibai and C 144 and a Dornier aircraft also continued the search along with INS Kabra for the unidentified ship that caused the accident.

The search for missing fishermen — Cletus alias Thankachan, 35, of Kalliserry House, at Kovilthottam, Bernard alias Babychan, 38, and Sathosh, 28, of Chirayilveetil, Kannallur – for the second day too did not yield results.