Over 365 Indian fishing boats nationalised by SL govt, boat owners left in hardships

AMID the unending saga of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, about 365 TN fishing boats worth more than ₹150 crore have been nationalised by the island nation in the last 10 years.

- M S THANARAJ @Ramanathapuram

According to RTI data received by TNIE from the Consulate General of India in Jaffna, the Lankan government had seized about 558 Indian fishing boats for various violations from 2014 to August 2024.

Of them, about 365 (including 13 seized in 2024) have been nationalised by the government following court orders.

Though 193 boats were released by the neighbouring country, about 21 of them are still stuck there as the salvage process, the legal and physical steps involved in bringing them back to India, is both time and cost consuming.

The salvage process for 12 boats is underway, but permission for a salvage crew from the Lankan authorities is delayed, sources said.