Cops seek to plug holes in coastal security

The Maharashtra Police have sent a proposal to the Directorate General of Shipping...

The Maharashtra Police have sent a proposal to the Directorate General of Shipping,suggesting that the seamens (sails) identity card used by mechanised boats in India and the continuous discharge certificate (CDC),a marine travel document,be mandatorily accompanied with passports at the time of entry and exit at Indian ports.

The Mumbai Police have,in the past one year,booked many who were found travelling with fake CDCs from across the country and many of these fake documents had emerged from Mumbai. The list of suggestions,giving instances in which these documents were misused in the recent months,have been sent to the DG Shipping by the State Intelligence Department. The suggestions stress the need for security features in marine travel documents,as most of them do not even come with the necessary verifications,and are often tampered with.

In the present scenario,everything around coastal security assumes significance. These documents may or may not have been misused. We shouldnt be caught napping on such basic security issues, said a police official. We have been told that the directive from the DG Shipping will be issued this month. We are waiting for the same.

The suggestions also seek stringent security features in the 19-page seamens (sails) identity card that allows the holder to enter and exit foreign ports without any other supporting documents. This legal document had come up for discussion in the security circles in mid-July 2008. The state police now want the DG Shipping to pass a rule that makes it mandatory to hold a passport along with the identity card. Officials say this will act as a security verification first at the stage of issue of passport,and also at the time of entry and exit.

The card,smaller than a ration card,is issued by the regional officer (sails) of the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) and is treated as an occupation certificate,which vouches that the holder sails on a mechanised vessel for trade. However,if it falls into the wrong hands,and is tampered with,this can also allow unlimited access to anywhere in the country via the sea route.

The Intelligence agencies had discussions on this with the Maharashtra Police as the two most frequent routes used by holders of this document are Mumbai-Karachi,and ports in Gujarat and Iraq. The document not only lacks any security feature,it also lacks any security features. The card is used by sailing communities from around the fishing and trading belt,particularly Kutch,Mandvi,Salia,Porbundar,Viraval,Jamnagar and Valsad,and also by those who travel to Karachi,Dubai,Kuwait,Iraq and even Somalia for trade.

Earlier too,it was on the suggestion of Maharashtra Police that the DG Shipping discontinued with the practice of manual issuing of CDCs at Chennai and Kolkata. The DG Shipping officials,however,were unavailable for comment.

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