Weather stalls spot panchnama

“The sea is rough,so we will have to wait for it to calm down. After we visit the spot,we will be able to prepare the chargesheet in the case,” he added.

Meanwhile,40 hours after the vessel sank,the Yellow Gate police arrested the captain Arkan Abdul Younis (36) and chief engineer Ioneseu Ion (54) for negligence.

Although the technical reports to confirm negligence are awaited,the two were arrested on the basis of the statements of the crew members and the accused.

“We questioned the crew members and found negligence on the part of the captain and the engineer. While the captain is responsible for the overall safety of the crew and the ship,the engineer is responsible for the machinery. The probe is in progress. Prima facie it can be said that a few of the pumps,including the blast pump,were not used at the right time and failed. The water got stuck through the night and could not escape and eventually took the vessel down,” an officer said.

Coast Guard authorities said they are yet to send the report to the police. They said the captain should have contacted the authorities as soon as he saw signs of the problem. Younis,however,said he was waiting for the nearest port.

Last Thursday,30 crew members of MV Rak — 21 Indonesians,six Jordanians,two Romanians and one Palestinian — were brought to the Yellow Gate police station after each of them was winched to safety from the sinking coal carrier.

The police said they have contacted various consulates but only the Indonasian consulate has come forward. “They contacted us two days ago and claimed responsibility for the 21 nationals. Meanwhile,all the rescued crew members have been put up in hotels around Yellow Gate by the agents of the vessel,” said Bhoite.

Directorate General of Shipping Satish Agnihotri is also planning to build a reception area for sailors who are rescued from wrecks. A “suitable arrangement” will soon be made for future situations,he said.

In the past year,sailors who are either rescued from pirate operations or wreck sites have been given shelter at the Yellow Gate police station or at the temple inside the port’s police station.

“There is an aspect of trauma that one needs to consider. These sailors are rescued from difficult conditions and to bring them straight to a police station does not feel appropriate,” Agnihotri added.