The documents, released by former minister Pramod Madhwaraj, have triggered speculations on the involvement of another ship colliding with Suvarna Thribhuja, the fishing boat which has gone missing.
Besides the naval warship INS Kochi, another merchant vessel ‘Sea Harvest’ was operating in the same area on December 15, 2018.
This surprising disclosure came from the Naval Base in Karwar.
A letter written by K C Arun Babu, Commander Staff Officer (Operations) in the Headquarters of the Naval Base, Karwar, on January 21, 2019, reveals that the merchant vessel Sea Harvest’s GPS log details indicated that it was in the same area sailing towards Haldia (West Bengal).
The letter was in response to the queries made by Udupi’s then SP Lakshman Nimbargi with the Naval Base, Karwar, about the seven fishermen missing.
Thus, the fishermen are seeking a detailed probe to shed light on who ploughed into the Suvarna Thribhuja boat.