Against the backdrop of killing of 2 Indian fishermen by armed guards of an Italian merchant vessel in February 2012, the Indian Navy is seeking demarcation of piracy-infested waters and setting up Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for maritime security.
This will avoid any future incidents like the one in February. The two Italian guards are facing trial in Indian courts.
Addressing the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)-2012 inSouth Africa, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma today asked the member-countries to set SOP’s which would make it easier for member-nations to co-operate in times of crisis.
Highlighting the contribution of India in anti-piracy operations with an aim of reducing probability of repetition of incidents such as shooting of innocent fisherman off the coast of Kerala, Admiral Verma mentioned the necessity for a clear demarcation of piracy affected waters based on ground realities, Navy officials said here.