Indian Coast Guard detains 4 foreigners off Tamil Nadu coast

Dec 09, 2024

CHENNAI: Four foreigners have been detained from a boat, approximately 46 nautical miles off the Tamil Nadu coast, defence officials said.

According to the Defence Public Relations Officer (PRO), Chennai, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) swiftly carried out the operation with sea-air coordination, when the suspect boat was initially reported by a fishing boat to an ICG Dornier aircraft.

Two ICG ships apprehended the individuals onboard the wooden boat on December 6 and handed them over to the Coastal Security Group (CSG) of Tamil Nadu Police, officials said.

Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 12 crew members of the sunken Indian vessel MSV Al Piranpir from the North Arabian Sea on December 4. This humanitarian search and rescue mission saw close collaboration between the Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), with both nations' Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) maintaining continuous communication throughout the operation, the Defence wing said in a press release.

The mechanized sailing vessel (Dhow) Al Piranpir, which had departed from Porbandar enroute to Bandar Abbas, Iran, reportedly sank in the morning hours of December 4 due to rough seas and flooding. The distress call was received by ICG's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Mumbai, which promptly alerted ICG Regional Headquarters (North West) in Gandhinagar. ICG Ship Sarthak was immediately diverted to the reported location. MRCC Pakistan was also contacted to alert mariners in the area, and their assistance was swiftly provided.

"The vessel sank on 04 Dec 24, however, the crew had abandoned the ship on a dinghy. This humanitarian mission saw close collaboration between ICG and Pak MSA, with both nations' MRCCs maintaining coordination throughout the operation and Pak MSA aircraft assisting in search of survivors," the Coast Guard said in a post on X.

This humanitarian search and rescue mission saw close collaboration between the Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), with both nations' Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) maintaining continuous communication throughout the operation, the official statement said.