Maldives Navy seizes three mechanised boats with 25 fishermen from Thoothukudi

The Maldives Navy has seized three mechanised boats from Tharuvaikulam in the district for reportedly entering the territorial waters of the island nation in the Indian Ocean.

Three mechanised boats from Tharuvaikulam Fish Landing Centre, with 25 crew members, had gone for multi-day deep sea stay fishing on October 1. When the fishermen were fishing in the deep sea, the The Maldives Navy personnel detained these three boats, owned by A. Ramesh Kumar, S. Soosai Packiyam and S. Michael Johnson of Tharuvaikulam, for allegedly entering the territorial waters of the island nation in the early hours of Tuesday.

The detained boats were taken to an undisclosed destination, said Tharuvaikulam fishermen, who alerted the official machinery.

“We have informed Fisheries Department officials here of the detention of the three boats by The Maldives Navy,” said Antony Aniton of Tharuvaikulam.

Bushra Shabhnam, Assistant Director, Fisheries Department, Thoothukudi, said they had alerted the District Collector and their higher-ups in Chennai to the detention of the three mechanised boats with 25 crew members.

Sources in district administration said the Chief Minister’s Office had been alerted to this development, and efforts to ensure the safe release of the three boats with the crew had already started.