By Quaid Najmi Raigad (Maharashtra) August 18 : A couple from Australia with no crew owned speedboat with some sophisticated weaponsdrifting in the Arabian Sea for 52 days — washed up on Harihareshwar Beach in Raigad coastal district, with alarm bells ringing and a day before of the crowded ‘dahihandi celebrations.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde immediately ordered an investigation into the incident.
the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has tentatively ruled out any terror-related motives however, concerns of coastal and maritime security are being discussed.
The incident brought back terrifying memories of the 1993 Mumbai terror attacks in which massive quantities of ammunition, weapons and explosives were shadily offloaded from small ports or beaches along the Raigad coast.
The suspicious speed-boat was initially observed by local fishermen in the early hours of this morning.This led to an uncontrollable flutter in the quiet coastal village and alerting the local police who were able to get there.
A quick search, followed by more thorough investigations revealed the truth of the speedboat that is believed to be owned by an Australian couple the government stated in the evening of Thursday.
Fadnavis informed the legislators that the speedboat named ‘Ladyhaan’ , was operated by an Australian woman named Hannah Laundergun and her husband James Horbert was sailing it.
He stated that Raigad Police have recovered 3 AK-47 guns and a few pounds of ammunition that was seized from the speedboat.
The Deputy Chief Minister also stated that the speedboat was scheduled to go across the Gulf of Oman to Europe however on the 26th of June at 10 a.m.it experienced an engine malfunction in an unidentified place in the ocean.
The crew of the vessel called for assistance, and within 3 hours the crew was contacted by the crew was contacted by a Korean warship in the area was able to take them in and delivered them to Oman.
Due to rough seas the Australian couple could not organize to tow the vessel and after adrift for seven months in the rough Arabian Sea waters, it finally arrived at Harihareshwar Beach on Thursday.
“The issue is being investigated by the Raigad Police and Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad and in light of previous incident, police have been on alert,” said Fadnavis.
The most frequently asked question is how the sophisticated weapons and ammunition got on the boat, whether they belonged to the crew or owner and what was the intention of sailing with such weapons, particularly because there are crucial Indian offshore facilities, such as the Mumbai High Fields, or whether the weapons were thrown onto the speed-boat after it was drifted and lost in the seas at high tide.
It is also unclear whether the alleged Australian owners, along with another person with a nationality or identity not clear, not informed the Indian coast guard, maritime or naval authorities of their speedboat, which was in the water in the Arabian Sea for at least 52 days, creating an imminent maritime risk.
In addition, the state government has issued the state government to issue a high-alert in Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Pune and other locations as a measure of precaution in anticipation of the celebrations that are scheduled for coming up.
Additionally, police blockades have been enforced along major roads, national and state highways, close to the tiny ports that line the coastline with random inspections of cars in the area of the coast.
Different central agencies like the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy and the Maharashtra Maritime Board, and the Centre have been informed and further investigations are being carried being conducted by the relevant agencies.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted via q.najmi@ians.in)
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