'Fate of North Korean ship to be known in a day or two'

The fate of a detained North Korean ship would be known only after its cargo was offloaded at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh in a day or two to check if it carried any 'suspicious' consignment, the Coast Guard said today.

The ship, MV Musen, was expected to leave Port Blair this evening with a Coast Guard (CG) vessel, Saarang, escorting it to Kakinada, Inspector General SPS Basra, Commander, Eastern Region of the Coast Guard, told reporters here.

"At the moment, as per available information, it has genuine cargo and has nothing suspicious in it. After discharging the cargo all agencies involved with the interrogation including the Coast Guard, I am sure, will assemble once again to see if anything suspicious was there before the ship is cleared to sail out," Basra said.

Last week, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, had said while the North Korean ship "prima facie", seemed to have been carrying genuine cargo destined for Iraq, "we have to be doubly sure with North Korea."

On the coastal security scenario in the Eastern region, Basra said coordinated efforts by the Coast Guard, Navy and state police were either held or being held in Tamil Nadu (Operation Barricade), Andhra Pradesh (Operation Barrier) and West Bengal (Operation Citadel) to test the preparedness and ruled out any specific terror threat. 

Basra said after the entire East Coast was covered by the exercises, a comprehensive review would be held at the Joint Operations Control Centre at Vishakapatnam next week where CG, Navy and coordinating officer from each state would take part.

"Such steps will help in ensuring more effective security," he said.

There was a general alert following the "developments" in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and "we are doing routine patrolling, but not any specific mission", he said.

'Operation Barricade' was a good effort and it involved the local community, especially fishermen, to alert the officials over suspicious movements in the sea, as the local community "are our eyes and ears", he said.

In the last 8-9 months, the Coast Guard and Navy were strengthened manifold, especially with the latter getting a fast attack craft in Chennai, he said.

The Coast Guard had identified land at Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry to set up a station while it was awaiting state government clearance for 50 acres of land at Tuticorin to set up a station there too, Basra said.

He said instances of Sri Lankan fishermen straying into Indian waters have risen.