In a development that revived the shocking memories of the manner in which a huge cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives were off-loaded along the Konkan coast ahead of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, a crew-less foreign-origin speed-boat with three AK-47 rifles and ammunition on board was seized off the Raigad coast in coastal Maharashtra.
The 16-metre-long boat “Lady Haan”, owned by an Australian couple had been adrift for 52 days during which it came floating from the Oman coast to Harihareshwar-Shrivardhan coast in Raigad district in the Konkan region.
The suspicious speedboat was first sighted by some local fishermen in the choppy Arabian Sea on Thursday morning, resulting in a sensation in the sleepy. Before long, the villagers alerted the local police. The local police in turn sounded an alert to the Indian Coast Guard and the Maharashtra Police, who seized the vessel.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, ruled out any terror angle, notwithstanding the fact that the incident has given rise to questions of maritime and coastal security.
Giving details of the circumstances leading to the sighting of the boat, Fadnavis told the Maharashtra legislature that the boat was on a voyage from Muscat to Europe. “On June 26, around 1,000 hrs, the engines of the boat failed after which the crew sounded a distress call. Around 1300 hrs, a Korean warship, which was in the vicinity, rescued the crew and handed them over to Oman authorities”.
Owing to the rough seas, the Australian couple reportedly could not arrange to tow the vessel and after remaining adrift for over seven weeks in the choppy Arabian Sea waters, it finally landed up Harihareshwar Beach on Thursday.
Fadnavis said that because of tidal waves at that point of time, the boat could not be towed. “The Raigad Police have recovered 3 AK-47 guns and some quantities of ammunition from the speedboat,” Fadnavis said.
On his part, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered a probe into the incident.
The senior officials of the Indian Coast Guard, Raigad police, and Anti-Terrorism Squad are carrying out investigations into the incident.
Not wanting to take any chances, the Maharashtra Government has sounded a high alert in Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Pune and other places as a precaution in view of the festivities tomorrow.
The seized speedboat, named “Lady haan” is owned by an Australian woman Hannah Laundergun and her husband Captain James Horbert. Horbert was navigating the boat.
The questions that have cropped up include: as to whether the sophisticated arms and ammunition belonged to the Australian couple and why they were carrying the arms and ammunition.
The place where the boat was sighted is the vicinity of vital Indian offshore installations like the Mumbai High Fields.
In a related development, the UAE-based Neptune P2P Group issued a statement on Thursday evening saying that it had provided private security to the vessel MY Lady Haan in June this year when it got damaged during monsoon in the Arabian Sea and Captain Horbert declared an emergency.
The Neptune P2P Group said while the crew was rescued, the yacht could not be salvaged due to the extreme weather conditions, and the vessel was presumed sunk till this morning the company learned that it had washed ashore in India (Raigad).
“Neptune P2P Group is working with the owner of the vessel and the Indian and UK authorities to determine the official recovery procedures of the vessel and controlled items,” the Neptune P2P Group said.