Ghost trawler in North puzzles Navy

By Dinasena Ratugamage

The Navy, on Sunday, seized a multi-day trawler, with a high engine capacity that had no crew, off the seas of Delft Island. Some Jaffna fishermen, who saw the trawler, informed the police. They assumed that it was carrying contraband.

When the Navy approached the trawler, there was no one on board. The Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Province said that the vessel was not registered with it.

The Navy believes that the boat had transported contraband, which was transferred to smaller vessels in international waters. The Navy said the crew would have abandoned the vessel after it had drifted into Sri Lankan waters. The Navy is conducting further investigations.