In yet another case of security threat, a barge, with nine crew members onboard, was spotted within five nautical miles off Madh Island by fishermen on Wednesday afternoon.
A fisherman alerted the police, who in turn informed the Coast Guard. Responding to the alert,
a helicopter was sent within minutes to the site to verify the fisherman’s claims.
It was later learnt that the vessel was heading from Vasai to Goa at a very slow speed due to rough weather. The vessel was released after it was not found to be suspicious.
At around 2.50 pm, the police control room received a call about a suspicious ship that was spotted off Madh Island.
“The caller identified himself as a fisherman and said that he had seen a ship moving slowly towards the coast. We immediately alerted the Coast Guard and other agencies about the same. We also informed the marine police,” said a police officer.
The Coast Guard immediately sprung into action and sent a ship and helicopter to investigate the vessel’s movement. “Responding promptly to a call from the police control room about the sighting of a suspicious vessel off Madh/Juhu, the Coast Guard diverted the ICGS Varuna at 2.57 pm and launched a Chetak helicopter at 3.10 pm to investigate the vessel,” said Captain Manohar Nambiar, chief public relations officer, defence.
According to Captain Nambiar, by 3.30 pm the helicopter was overhead the vessel and by 3.40 pm ICGS Varuna had closed in on it.
The vessel was then boarded by Coast Guard officials, who confirmed that it was a new ore carrier (barge) named Mogri, which was on it way to Goa from Vasai with a crew of nine members.
A source said that the Coast Guard officers checked the vessel thoroughly and also checked whom the vessel belonged to.
The crew told the officers that they were hit by of “rough weather” due to which they were moving at a very low speed.
“Nothing suspicious
was observed and the vessel is now on its way to Goa at a speed of three to five knots, keeping about five miles from the coast during the prevailing rough sea conditions,” said Captain Nambiar.