Indians seize MV Seaman Guard Ohio

[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?

[Madhu]

No US nationals? The report doesn't mention any of the things I posted. It didn't present the statements of the shipping company.

It says that the ship entered the waters illegally. What defines the waters? The NDTV report is different from the 12 miles mentioned above. Was the ship asked to follow the Coast Guard into Indian waters or are the Indians policing waters further out? Again, help from someone that knows about this stuff!

Why didn't the reporters ask for a statement from the company in the report? It presented only one side. Or did I miss it?

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/new...tionals/294740

[Ray]

It is rather intriguing that the Sierra Leone registered ship should take contraband diesel, when it could have taken it legally from a Port.

There appears to be more than what meets the eye.

[davidbfpo]

Tomorrow, the 33-year-old of Connel, near Oban, will find out if he will at last be freed on bail from Puzhal jail in the Indian city of Chennai.

But an account of the drama, written by one of Billy’s crewmates, reveals the squalid and degrading conditions in which the seamen are being held. It also reveals how Billy and his colleagues were tricked by Indian police, who told them they were being taken to hospital before locking them up in jail.

(Billy's father says) We’ve been failed by his employers, AvanFort. We’ve been let down by the Foreign Office and we have no faith in the Indian legal system.

Link:http://www.sundaypost.com/news-views...unter-1.172483

Found via an e-petition calling upon UK government to help:https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitio...cdA_ovjhrGDbim

[davidbfpo]

A BBC report:

A former British serviceman who has been held in prison in India since October has been granted bail. All six Britons have been in prison in India since 24 October. It is not yet clear if the other five men have been granted bail.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...-west-26748266

[Ray]

Link:http://www.sundaypost.com/news-views...unter-1.172483

Found via an e-petition calling upon UK government to help:https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitio...cdA_ovjhrGDbim

Is it surprising that westerners pretend life is so unjust in third world countries and its jails?

There is a programme on one of the Western TV channels that show the horror of non western jails.

Am I to understand the western jails are resorts for the jailed?