The New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) has urged the Fisheries Department to strictly coordinate and identify fishing vessels entering the port during distress through mobile app or digital communication.
Failure to authenticate identification of vessels amounts to severe breach of security protocols mandated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs as per the International Ship and Port Safety Regulations (ISPR), NMPT Chairman A.V. Ramana said in a statement. His statement came after several fishing vessels entered NMPT premises on Monday following rough weather in the Arabian Sea. The vessels were finally allowed after the port officials authenticated their identity by contacting fishermen leaders, he said.
Mr. Ramana said, “The port had informed the Fisheries Department long ago to follow a well-documented digitised procedure to balance between regulations and fishing trawlers in distress to ease fishermen’s burden when they were in distress. However, the department did not work in that direction and remains a silent spectator despite repeated follow-ups.”
In the absence of a well-defined system, allowing fishing trawlers would lead to breach of security defined by ISPR and MHA. Failure to follow security protocols would lead to stopping of export-import cargo handling operations by the International Maritime Community, the Chairman noted. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that manages port security could allow boats/trawlers only with proper authentication/ identification inside the port premises.
Allowing unauthenticated entry would be dangerous, particularly at a time when there was threat of foreign terrorists hijacking a local fishing trawler and entering the port. Such happenings would be dangerous to national security if not checked.
Mr. Ramana said the port was always sympathetic towards the fishermen community and the Deputy Conservator was given specific instruction to help fishermen in distress. At the same time, the Fisheries Department should design a proper identification system.
Deputy Director of Fisheries, Dakshina Kannada, Parshwanath, said the fisheries directorate was seized of the matter of designing an app-based authentication system.
