Unclaimed boat found near Porbandar

In yet another incident that exposes the lack of security along the coastline of the state, an unclaimed and suspicious boat, possibly from Yemen, was found on the Porbandar coast on Friday morning.

The orange coloured boat named ‘Napht Al Yemen6’ and measuring 20 ft by 8 ft is made of fibre, police said. However, there were no passengers or material on board.

“We found the boat at around 8 am near Tukra on the coast after being informed by the locals. We rushed to the spot and brought the boat to the shore. We have not found any passenger or sign of any material on board,” investigating officer, JN Chavda told DNA.

This incident should sound an alarm for the authorities, as in the last fortnight, 35 Somali and Yemeni pirates have managed to reach the Saurashtra coast in two separate incidents. However, officials deny any link between pirates and the boat found on Friday morning.

“We have checked for possible links between pirates and the boat. We had contacted officials in Dwarka and Una and as of now there is no connection between the two,” said Porbandar district superintendent of police, Nilesh Jajadia.

Meanwhile, the police believe that vessel was not in use for a while. “It looks like a rescue boat, can seat 8 to 10 people and is made of fibre. There is an engine on the boat but no propeller. Therefore, we assume that boat was not in use for at least six months.

We have also found signs of rust on certain parts of the boat,” Jajadia explained. He added that the boat had been handed over to customs and coast guards have been asked to keep a vigil while patrolling.