The case of Mochanam, the missing fishing boat

On 31 May 2010, a deep sea fishing boat, Mochanam, with seven crew members set out to sea from Kolachel harbour in Kanyakumari. The monsoon had just set in, the sea was moderate to rough and the men were bound for the Wedge Bank, a favoured fishing ground this time of the year, for a full week of fishing. A week later when the men didn't return, anxious next of kin and friends began searching for the missing boat and by 08 June, the coastguard and all officials were alerted. All search parties returned without finding the men or the boat. A few days later a piece of the bow of the boat was found floating in the sea by a fishing boat and was towed back to the harbour. The name of the boat was visible on the piece of the recovered debris.

When a boat disappears at sea, we can only guess the possible causes of mishap as no one has actually lived to tell the tale. In this case, the recovery of a piece of the boat has given us some clue of the nature of the mishap. It points somewhat clearly to a mid-sea collision (at night) with a large ship.

In the daytime, men are working on deck and so an approaching ship would be spotted by any of the seven crew members but at night, the situation is different. In most of our fishing boats, all crew members go to sleep at night while anchored and if you ask them why, they say they worked very hard all day so they deserve rest. The argument is watertight but it’s a dangerous thing to do while at sea.

During periods of darkness, a light must always burn on the boat and one man has to stay vigilant for other ships or boats that may approach on collision course and to ensure the light is burning alright, all night long. The movement of the boat or even some rain or spray may get into the light and put it off. Night watches can be shared among the men ensuring all of them get sufficient rest.

On a clear day or night, standing on the deck of Mochanam, one could possibly see a ship or its light from as far as 8 to 10 nautical miles. This is roughly Mochanam's visible horizon. If someone on board Mochanam was vigilant and keeping a look-out, he would have spotted the ship on a collision course 8 to 10 miles away and would have enough time to take corrective action -- either move away or attract the attention of the approaching ship.

Most merchant ships post extra look-outs (besides the navigator) while in coastal waters, particularly at night, so there was someone on board the ship keeping a look-out while the crew of Mochanam was fast asleep after a hard day's work probably anchored in the middle of a shipping route. Since speeds of approach are slow, there are no sudden surprises at sea. Everything moves at a slow pace so there is enough time to take action if we are vigilant.

Depletion of our inshore resources has pushed fishermen into shipping lanes leading to navigation conflicts with merchant ships. Small boat fishermen do not have to fear collisions with ships as they get washed away by the wake of the ship but bigger boats like Mochanam offer more resistance and get beaten down.

A review of accidents in the small scale fishery showed Kanyakumari topping the list with the largest incidents of collision, followed by Tuticorin, Nagapattinam, and Cuddalore. These are collisions with large boats and/or boats of the same size. A review of accidents among larger boats may throw up interesting findings on collisions especially with merchant ships.

Mani (53), Essak (52), Cleetus (48), Biju (36), Shaji (29), Binu (26) and Satheesh (18) are the Kanyakumari fishermen who went down with Mochanam. Collisions are just one among twelve types of commonly reported accidents in the Tamil Nadu fishery and fifth in terms of human casualties. Mochanam is an example of one of the risks and dangers fishermen face daily -- an example that took seven lives.