Pakistan terror boat: Danger from high seas imminent
Analysts are poring over images sent back by the Coast Guard Dornier aircraft and also the coast guard ship Rajratan that chased suspicious Pakistani fishing vessel for over an hour on the high seas 200 nautical miles from the coast on New Year’s eve. There are several aspects that need closer scrutiny.
The four sailors on board the unlit Pakistani vessel were wearing a "PT rig" (white T-shirt, shorts and open sandals) usually worn by sailors of an organised maritime force when out at sea. Fishermen do not wear any uniform or rig. The demeanour of the Pakistani personnel on board the suspicious vessel when challenged is also unlike those of fishermen. The Pakistani vessel was unlit (unlike fishing vessel out regular fishing), it was loitering suspiciously at 6 nautical miles up and down almost as if waiting to rendezvous with another vessel. Vice Admiral AK Singh, former Director General Coast Guard and former Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Eastern Naval Command says normally military personnel prefer to wear PT-sports rig on sea. Fishermen wear different clothes. These sailors also had military bearing.
The suspicious Pakistani vessel was about 15 metres long. Usually fishing vessels this size are found in waters up to 30-40 nautical miles from the coast. This boat was 200 nautical miles (365 km plus from Porbandar coast). Why? Usually on high seas the fishing vessels are much larger - 500 to 1,000 tonnes displacement. This suspicious vessel was virtually on the same path taken by the ten Pakistani terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2008 when they attacked Mumbai.
Diesel and alcohol smugglers are coast huggers. They carry out their operations closer to the coast line between India and Pakistan. They also try to melt in the crowd. This was a lone ranger on high seas. This suspicious Pakistani boat was being monitored from the time it left the Keti Bundar in Pakistan.
NTRO was monitoring lines of a suspicious anti-India entity for a considerable period of time. Based on specific intelligence inputs, a Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft sortie was mounted to counter a threat, not to catch petty smugglers. The suspicious vessel was followed from Keti Bundar to the high seas all along the December 31, 2014. Based on a positive identification by the Dornier aircraft, Coast Guard ship Rajratan, fast attack craft (inshore patrol vessel) was dispatched. It took up to nine hours to reach the waters where the suspicious Pakistani vessel was loitering.
Meanwhile it is learnt that the intelligence agencies were monitoring the conversation from and to the suspicious Pakistani vessel. Some reports indicate the conversation was three ways – in Karachi and Thailand. It is well known that the ISI has a well oiled network operating in Bangkok and that several directions to forces inimical to India are given out of Pakistani bases in south East Asia, instead of directly from Pakistan, post 26/11.
The conversations are in code language and analysts are trying to break the code. For example, what is the expensive cargo that has to be transferred? The value of the cargo – does that indicate the number of people on board? There is also one conversation that is indicative of those on board the suspicious Pakistani vessel seeking guidance once challenged by the Coast Guard ship.
Once the coast guard commander challenged the unlit ship on the loud hailer (on camera) to switch on its lights, identity itself and stand by for coast guard ship to come alongside for boarding the suspicious vessel suddenly took evasive measures. It changed course, increased its speed and tried to escape from the spotlight.
The Coast Guard vessel was apprehensive. The intelligence input clearly spoke of a suspicious Pakistani vessel. What if these were terrorists and tried a repeat of USS Cole incident – attempting to ram into the Coast Guard vessel. The coast guard was clearly taking no chances and maintained a fair distance from the suspicious Pakistani vessel.
As an aside, in December before Navy Day, I had interviewed Admiral Robin Dhowan, Chief of Naval Staff, and asked him how the navy would react to a Pakistan Naval Ship post the Al Qaeda attempt to take over a Pakistan Naval Ship in Karachi, Indian Navy was treating all Pakistani vessels, including those flying Pak Navy flag with due suspicion. He insisted normal courtesies of the sea were to be extended to those ships after due diligence.
For an hour, the suspicious Pakistani vessel continued to dodge the Coast Guard vessel in the choppy sea. When it realised it could not escape, those on board sought guidance from the handlers and were duly advised to set the boat on fire. While details of the exact conversation are yet to emerge, sources have told Headlines Today that the sailors on board the vessel were told their families were being paid five lakh rupees each for their sacrifice. By now, the Coast Guard had fired warning shots over the bow of the suspicious Pakistani fishing boat.
The four on board the Pakistani vessel went below deck and before dawn, around three in the morning, the boat was lit up. It took almost three and a half hours for the boat to finally sink. Did the sailors go down with the boat? Did they jump? According to a radar scan, there was no other boat in the 40 NM radius of this suspicious vessel. So even if the sailors jumped, they could not have survived.
The Coast Guard is quietly patting itself on the back on a successful operation. A suspicious Pakistani vessel was neutralised on the high seas. Explosives, weapons, sniper rifles, ammunition, IEDs, whatever be the cargo, prima facie it did not reach the Indian shores. Thankfully.
There are bits of conversation intercepted that indicate that the second boat developed a leak in the hull and withdrew towards Karachi. Sources do not believe these could be petty smugglers for several reasons. Smugglers usually hug the coast and operate with several other ships around. A 100 tonne displacement ship usually does not venture out, 200 NM from coast for fishing. Deep sea fishing is usually left to larger displacement ships. With oil prices plummeting globally, smuggling diesel or even alcohol is not very profitable 350 kms from the coastline.
While bits of information are still being collated to join the dots for a bigger picture to emerge, it is clear the threat from the seas remains.