Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 18 – Around 10 Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by British vessel Grampien Endurance being brought to Vizhinjam by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships at 10 am on Sunday.
The crew will be medically examined, interrogated by concerned agencies and will be handed over to the Fisheries Department for safe passage to Tamil Nadu, a press release said.
The fishermen who ventured into deep sea fishing near the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in the Indian Ocean were apprehended on December 6, 2023 by BIOT’s Senior Fisheries Protection Officer from BIOT’s Marine Protection Area where fishing is illegal.
They were tried at BIOT and master of vessel was fined 60000 British pounds. They have 30 days, wef 12 December 2023 to pay fine which is till 11 January 2024. The vessel has been detained and 10 crew are being repatriated by BIOT patrol vessel Grampien Endurance.
The fishermen are being brought to Vizhinjam by Indian Coast Guard ships today morning by 1000 hrs. BIOT is an archipelago of 58 islands covering some 640,000 sq km of ocean, is a British Overseas Territory. It is administered from India and Indian Ocean Directorate London and is located approximately halfway between East Africa and Indonesia.
