Update: Wed Oct 10 - 3.30 pm

Attack on NIO Scientists' Boat off Yermal - Update from Goa

Daijiworld Media Network - Goa (MB)
from special correspondent (with PTI inputs)

Hazards lurking over the waves

Panaji, Oct 10: A boat carrying six scientists from Waltair-Vishkhapatnam-based regional centre attached to Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) was attacked two days ago off Yermal coast in Udupi district of Karnataka, top level officials confirmed.
 
The assailants arrived in two different native crafts, got into the NIO boat and took away the geo-physical survey instruments after a brief scuffle, a NIO spokesman stated.

The NIO officials, who were yet to confirm whether the act is a case of piracy or of loot for petty gains, stated that they were still studying the case. The boat had been hired by NIO and did not belong to the institute, he said.

"All the six scientists from Waltair regional centre were on their sponsored project to the west coast to conduct research on sea variations and tsunami alerts," a NIO spokesman stated.

NIO director Dr V P Shetye stated that the institute is assessing the loss incurred by way of instruments.   "A case has been registered with the Udupi police who are investigating into it,'' Shetye stated.

The NIO officials stated that they will be releasing later in the evening formal bulletin  listing names of the scientists on board during the incident.

First report: Wednesday, Oct 10  -  9.10 am ISI

Mangalore: Oceanography Boat Looted off Udupi - Pirates at Sea?

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore / Udupi (RD/MB)
With inputs from Goa bureau

• Boat used by National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) reportedly attacked
• Equipment, said to be of value Rs 4 crore, looted at sea off Yermal in Udupi
• Later reports say the equipment apparently thrown off board by miscreants
• NIO officials rule out piracy act

Whose act is it?

Mangalore, Oct 10 (9-10 am IST): Miscreants are said to have stormed a boat, conducting a mission on behalf of the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography, off coastal Karnataka on Monday and robbed it of equipment reportedly worth Rs 4 crore.

The boat had been stationed off the Yermal coast in Udupi district, in order to study the fluctuations in the Arabian Sea and to detect Tsunami alerts.

Sources told Daijiworld that the police were intimated about the incident on October 8, but even until late Tuesday night (October 9) the police would neither confirm nor deny its occurrence.

The incident is said to have taken place off Yermal and Padubidri coast in the Arabian Sea. The oceanographers' group consisted of six members, having arrived from Goa, and engaged in research on sea variations and tsunami alerts.

A gang stormed the boat, attacked the crew and decamped with sophisticated equipment, said to be of value of Rs 4 crore.

Reports also said that the personnel were injured in the scuffle and they are being treated in a hospital in a city on shore. No information is being given, possibly for security reasons.

Although the act has been blamed on organized piracy, a hand of local elements with an aim only to make a fast buck - without knowing the value and function of the equipment might have played a role, said other sources.

If it is not an act of locals, since the equipment is of specialized and classified category and its re-sale is a hard bargain in Indian market, a possibility of foreign involvement in the act cannot be ruled out, said an official on condition of anonymity to avoid unnecessary panic.

Daijiworld's enquiries with the Udupi police control room and the police's sea wing early on Wednesday drew a blank. Further details are awaited.

Late news:

Daijiworld's Mangalore office contacted the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa and its director, V P Shetye, confirmed the news. The boat had been hired by the NIO and was studying the sea behaviour. There were six scientists on board. The evaluation of the loss in terms of geo-physical instruments is under way, he added.

NIO officials ruled out the chances of piracy. Since the equipment was reportedly thrown off board by the miscreants, they could be some locals on the look-out for valuables useful to them.