More vigil needed to tackle close encounters

KOCHI: With increasing incidents of fishermen being  killed off Kerala coast, the masters of merchant vessels sailing through the Kerala coast, hint at the possibility of human error in judging the close-quarters situation which often results in such incidents.The inexperience of watch keepers on ships in the highly dense traffic areas could be a major reason behind such incidents. The delay in judging the situation would also result in collision. Thursday’s incident could be the result of an improper lookout. The lack of proper action to avoid a collision by both the ship and fishing boat and the inexperienced watch keeper on the ship’s navigational bridge are also the reasons for the mishap,” said a member of Master Mariner of India.Kulachal, Vizhinjam, Neendakara and Alappuzha are identified as fishing regions. To avoid accidents, when merchant ships sail through these areas both watch keepers should always be vigilant. There was a directive to increase the number of watch keepers while sailing through such regions. Usually, there will be three watch keepers deployed on the bridge. The second and third watch keepers would be junior personnel. They will not be vigilant in the wee hours.Though the incident calls for the responsibility of the merchant oil tanker ship, the fishing boat also should be well aware of the situation and take action to avoid a collision, an expert said.“Officially, the ships sailing through the coastal waters are allowed to have an innocent passage. However, we prefer to sail at 24 nautical miles off the coast during night to avoid collisions with fishing boats,” Binu Varghese, a merchant ship captain said.Experts said the fishing boats should also be guided in a disciplined manner to follow proper navigation at sea. They should be equipped with proper communication and life-saving equipment and should undergo strict marine surveys on a regular basis.“The master of a merchant ship should be aware of the coastal fishing areas. He should plan the voyage accordingly and navigate his ship away from the congested fishing areas, especially at night. Another thing is to keep the maximum number of watch keepers on the bridge as the situation demands,” experts said and added that the fishing areas are not well-marked. And that is a major reason for  recurring collisions.