KOCHI: A joint team of Union Territory Police, the Coast Guard and the Intelligence Bureau will interrogate the crew of the Taiwanese fishing vessel, Isabel III, which ran aground a coral reef near an uninhabited Lakshadweep island on Saturday night.

All the 33 members of the crew of the vessel are now lodged in the India Reserve Battalion Camp. Lakshadweep administration officials said that the crew members were reported to be in good condition. They were airlifted to Kavaratti from the uninhabited Suheli Island.

Officials said that action will be taken against the crew if the officers found any violation of Indian laws in the entire incident. It is learnt that the Coast Guard personnel will try to pull back the Taiwanese vessel, which is presently resting on the coral reef listing to one side. Of the 33 crew members, 12 each are Filipino and Chinese, four Taiwanese, three Vietnamese and two Indonesian. The crew members abandoned the ship when it began to list. While 32 of them managed to swim to Suheli, one person was rescued by a Sea King helicopter of the Indian Navy. The vessel's last port of call was Oman. It was headed for Singapore when the incident occurred.

In a press release, Coast Guard officials said that the exact cause behind the incident was yet to be ascertained. The Coast Guard will keep a continuous vigil in the area for any oil spill from the vessel. It carries about 190 tons of fuel, according to the release.

The release said that the maritime rescue sub centre in Kochi received a message at 02:30 a.m. on July 16 from maritime rescue coordination centre in Mumbai that fishing vessel Isabel III ran aground on coral reefs at 9 p.m., approximately eight kilometres from Suheli Par islands.

Coast Guard Kochi launched a Dornier aircraft in the morning and also sent CGS Varuna with medical and damage control team to render immediate assistance. Coast Guard Kavaratti was also alerted and a request made to Lakshadweep administration to send its cargo ship MV Cheriyam with Coast Guard rescue team.

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