Ponnani (Malappuram): It has come to light that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kerala Maritime Board had put pressure on officials to grant registration for the boat that capsized in Tanur, leading to the death of 22 persons. The police is likely to question the CEO soon.
The CEO wrote letters multiple times to the Chief Surveyor in Alappuzha and the registering authority for granting registration for the boat named “Atlantic” which met with the accident on the night of May 7. Although the registering authority made known its firm decision that registration cannot be granted, the CEO kept sending letters to officials by superseding the agency. Malayala Manorama has obtained the documents proving the same.
An investigation by the police has revealed that the CEO had used the State’s Inland Water Transport Act and the amended Central legislation in order to achieve his aim. The probe also found contradictions arising from the application of two different laws for the same purpose and that the legal conditions were not followed.
A proposal to grant registration to vessels without registrartion by imposing a fine was surreptitiously inserted into the agenda of a meeting that was conducted in Alappuzha on January 11 to resolve local issues pertaining to tourist boats.
There was also an attempt to extend this provision to all the tourist boats operating across the State. Although the CEO recommended that registration could be granted to the Tanur boat “Atlantic” on the basis of this decision, the registering authority informed the CEO through a letter that since the decision taken at the Alappuzha meeting was not approved by the government, it was not possible to impose fines or begin the process for granting registration.
The surveyor recorded in the file that since there was no clarity on the manufacture of the Tanur boat and the procedures followed, the vessel cannot be regularized. When it became clear that approval from the government cannot be obtained, the CEO dropped the agenda and took recourse to the Inland Vessel Act.
This law has provisions for regularization of a vessel by paying a fine if the authorities concerned were not informed when an inland transport boat is manufactured or changes are made in its structure. But, since the Tanur boat was a fishing vessel, this law was not applicable to it. The CEO acted disregarding this fact.
Investigating officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police VV Benny on Monday recorded the statements of the registering authority of the Maritime Board in Alappuzha regarding the irregularities. The Chief Surveyor, Port Conservator, and the inland vessel consultant had been questioned during the past few days.
