Taiwanese ship crew questioned; ''navigation error'' caused mishap

Kochi, July 17 (UNI) A ''navigation error'' had apparently caused the Taiwanese deep sea fishing vessel Isabel III to run aground a coral reef near an uninhabited Lakshadweep island on Saturday night, the crew of the ship told Indian officials in Kavaratti today.

A joint team of the Lakshadweep Police, Coast Guard and the Intelligence Bureau questioned the 33 crew members at Kavaratti today but the investigation was hampered by the fact that only one of them knew some English, senior Coast Guard officials told UNI here.

''However, it is clear that it was an innocent passage and they were not intending to fish in the Indian waters. They told us that they had put the vessel on auto pilot and some navigation error grounded it on the coral reef, about eight km from Suhaili, an uninhabited island of Lakshadweep,'' the officials said.

The crew members had abandoned their ship yesterday morning when it began to list. While 32 of them managed to swim to Suhaili, one of them was carried away by the strong currents and was rescued by a Naval helicopter. All 33 crew members were airlifted to Kavaratti last evening.

They are presently lodged in the India Reserve Battalion camp at Kavaratti. A medical examination in the morning had shown that all of them were in good health, Lakshadweep Administration officials said.

Meanwhile, no salvage operations could be undertaken to pull back the Taiwanese vessel, flying under a Seychelles flag, the Coast Guard officials said. The vessel is now tilting at almost 60 degrees. As the sea in the area was very rough, it would be difficult to mount any salvage operations at present, they added.

The vessel was reportedly loaded with tuna fish. Its last port of call was Oman and it was heading for Singapore.

Of the 33 crew members, 12 each were Filipino and Chinese, four Taiwanese, three Vietnamese and two Indonesians.

The Coast Guard was keeping continuous vigil in the area for any oil spill from the stranded vessel, which was carrying about 190 kilolitres of marine diesel. While ''CGS Varuna'' is patrolling the area, a Dornier Aircraft of the coast guard is also expected to make a reconnaisance tomorrow, the officials said.

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