The body of another fisherman was recovered following the collision between a merchant vessel and the Indian fishing boat Oceanic, which subsequently sank on August 7.
According to local media, the body of the Kerala fisherman was found in waters off Chettuva village, Kerala, on Saturday by a fishing boat. The body of the 42-year-old man was brought to Munamban harbour.
Eight more fishermen remain missing following the incident which occurred some 75 kilometers off the coast of Chettuva in the early morning hours of August 7. The bodies of three men were earlier discovered, while another two were rescued and hospitalized.
India’s Directorate General of Shipping earlier launched an investigation into the incident and subsequently started analyzing and retrieving positions of all the merchant ships that have transited the area at the time.
Two vessels were found to be in the closest proximity of the reported casualty and have been advised not to leave Indian waters until further orders. Additionally, the Ministry informed that a possibility of involvement of two more merchant vessels has not been ruled out at this stage.
Two teams of investigators from Kochi and Mumbai already inspected Indian-flagged crude oil tanker Desh Shakti, which was suspected to be involved in the collision.
Relevant officials were cited as saying that investigators collected paint samples from the ship and now await the results of the sample in order to prove whether the ship actually caused the incident. However, the officials are yet to receive any concrete evidence regarding the ship’s involvement in the collision.
Additionally, a Liberian-flagged ship is also under investigation as it was also present near the accident site.
World Maritime News Staff