Despite 26/11 attacks, Indian coasts still lack security

New Delhi, Aug 5: Several controversies and questions have been raised following cargo vessel, MV Pavit's creep into the Indian waters without being detected by either the Navy or Coast Guard.

The 26/11 Mumbai attacks was the single most serious breach of India's coastal security. There has been no similar attack since then but Indian waters are repeatedly ingressed.

There were two major breaches of Indian waters. One was the Singapore flagged vessel MV Wisdom that grounded off Juhu beach. In May the Indian Navy sank a pirate mother ship in the Arabian Sea. In the same month, 32 Somali pirates were arrested in Gujarat. Their vessel had sailed undetected to the coast where it sank in rough seas.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is yet to clear the National Maritime Defence Authority and the Navy's command control and intelligence network is not ready. No less than 15 different central and state agencies are responsible for maritime security which makes coordination difficult. In the case of the MV Pavit, each agency will give its input on the breach of security. The Point is who will examine the report and who has the final authority to implement.

OneIndia News