(a) whether the Government is aware that the London based Joint War Committee has declared the Arabian Sea close
to India as a war zone;
(b) if so, whether such a decision has resulted in travel of foreign ships close to Indian territory resulting in accidents and killing of poor fishermen of our country; and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to protect the lives of our fishermen in the Arabian Sea?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI PRENEET KAUR)
(a) & (b) Yes. Joint War Committee (JWC) in December 2010, extended the eastern limit of High Risk Area (HRA) from 65º
east to 78º East (excluding the territorial waters).
This has caused congestion of the Indian waters in the west coast of India since the ships tend to chart their course
closer to the west coast of India as against their regular easterly/westerly courses across the Arabian Sea.
The increased number of merchant ships transiting close to Indian coast is not connected directly with accidents and
killing of poor fishermen of our country, but rather due to poor application of Rules of the Road, as well as non-
adherence of the best Management Practices and IMO guidelines by some merchant ships.
(c) The Director General Shipping issues Warnings on the subject from time to time. The Indian Navy has issued NAVAREA
Warnings (available to the entire merchant shipping world) highlighting the details of fishing activities along the
Indian coast up to 50 nautical miles from shore. The purpose of these communiqué is to sensitize all concerned about
the environment prevalent in the area of transit and necessary measures to be undertaken to avoid accidents/incidents.
As an interim measure, Directorate General of Shipping has issued a Merchant Shipping (M.S.) Notice 7 of 2012
for the safe navigation of merchant ships on Indian coast and advising all merchant vessels to take note of dense
fishing traffic on Indian coast, the possibility that they may be approached by these boats for safeguarding their
nets/lines and that these fishing boats should not be mistaken for pirate skiffs. Merchant shipping has been advised
to navigate with extreme caution when approaching upto 50 NM from the Indian coast.