Indians seize MV Seaman Guard Ohio

[Ray]

Seaman Guard Ohio, registered in the West African country of Sierre Leone, docked in the V O Chidambaranar port since October 12, having 31 assault rifles and more than 5000 rounds of ammunition in the ship, which were confiscated by the authorities.

Police also said they found weapons and ammunition on board, which had not been properly declared. Officials say the vessel was not authorised to carry arms in Indian waters and that it never produced the necessary paperwork.

The men had been booked under two sections of the Indian Arms Act that prohibits possession of weapons without permission. A case under Passport Act and Essential Commodities Act was also registered for procuring fuel in Indian waters in an unauthorized manner.

Police also detained three locals, who were suspected to have illegally sold diesel to the ship.

Analysts say that anti-piracy measures on high-risk shipping routes are poorly regulated and India is increasingly sensitive to violations of its maritime boundaries because of the Mumbai carnage when the terrorists sneaked in by the sea.

[Madhu]

This is confusing. Something isn't making sense.

If you go to the AdvanFort site, there is something posted from October 17th, a Boarding Clearance Certificate from the Coast Guard that says, "....the inspection did not reveal any violation under the above referred Act." Link as follows:

http://www.advanfort.com/Indian-Coas...to-MV-OHIO.pdf

Also, the company has written:

The certificate, dated September 9th, specifically noted that it "did not reveal any
violation under the above referred Act" (the Maritime Zones of India Act, 1981) and
"rules made there under as amended to enforce this Law."

The inspection included both the OHIO as a vessel, as well as its necessary
documentation.

The certification was issued while the OHIO was in the Indian Port Tuticorin.

AdvanFort International would also like to thank Indian Deputy National Security
Advisor Nehchal Sandhu for his comments earlier yesterday, when he told reporters:

"You have to understand that our territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles.
Anything that happens beyond that is not within the realm of our control. So, if there is
a ship beyond that and doing whatever it is doing, then what can anybody do in terms of
law?

“You cannot concoct law,” he added.

So what then happened in port? Are the men being detained currently? What are the charges? Can they be viewed by the public?

Whose job is it in country to visit the American citizens, someone from the Embassy/Consulate? The British citizens have been visited, apparently, what about the others?

The reports are conflicting and contradictory in the media. What happened?

[Madhu]

The men had been booked under two sections of the Indian Arms Act that prohibits possession of weapons without permission. A case under Passport Act and Essential Commodities Act was also registered for procuring fuel in Indian waters in an unauthorized manner.

So, why was a certificate issued? What changed? Was the ship outside Indian waters and did it follow the Coast Guard at its request? If that is the case, how does the Indian Arms Act strictly follow? Did the ship make a mistake in following the Coast Guard or did someone override the initial inspection? Why?

[Madhu]

(CNN) -- Italy has moved to defuse a diplomatic dispute with India by agreeing to send back two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen last year.
The two Italian marines are due to face trial in India over the allegations, but after the Indian Supreme Court allowed them to return to Italy last month to vote in national elections, Rome refused to send them back.

That decision angered Indian government officials and Supreme Court justices, who noted that the Italian ambassador had given assurances to the court that the marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, would come back to India after the elections.

The court responded last week by temporarily banning the ambassador, Daniele Mancini, from leaving India, a move that Italy said violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The two sides appeared locked in an impasse, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying Italy's actions were "not acceptable" and warning of "consequences" for the two countries' relations.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/world/...italy-marines/



Is there something political going on with the detention? Election related?

So, why did the inspection results change?

[Madhu]

New Delhi: Tearing into the UPA government after the Italian government refused to send back two Italian marines guilty of killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast back to India, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said that the government must ensure that marines return to face trial in India.

“It’s a betrayal, a bluff by the Italian government. It is a bluff against the Supreme Court of India,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation...jp_834743.html

Any SAJA journalists covering this?

http://www.saja.org/about

[Madhu]

Again, on the AdvanFort site:

That tale—as told by others—appears to be critical to understanding the current situation involving the
MV OHIO.

The vessel, whose crew included eight Indians, was intercepted and detained by the Indian Coast Guard
east of Tuticorin on Saturday following an anonymous accusation that the OHIO illegally carried arms and ammunition, as well as had purchased 1,500 litres of diesel “illegally” with the help of a local shipping agent.

From Oct. 19th press release. It's a bit strange, talking now about the "nebulous" nature of things:

Unfortunately for private maritime security companies (PMSCs), as The Hindu just pointed out, the incident involving the MV OHIO “has exposed a ‘nebulous area’ in the legality of the rapidly growing
practice.”

http://www.advanfort.com/MV%20OHIO%2...ed%20twice.pdf

What really happened? Is this a case where multiple points of view have validity because we are dealing with(sorry for this) uncharted legal and international norms waters?

Lawyers lurking and reading? Help out.

[Madhu]

MT Desh Shanti, belonging to the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), was detained by Iran at Bandar Abbas Port on August 12 for alleged pollution. It was released on September 6.

The vessel, which can carry 1,40,000 tonnes of crude, was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps in the Persian Gulf while carrying oil from Basrah in Iraq to Visakhapatnam.

It was released after SCI, India's largest shipping company, submitted a letter of undertaking to the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organisation.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ir...ct-ties-418780

How often are ships being detained these days? Is this increasing?