Mangaluru: Search operations are still on for the missing fishing boat, Suvarna Tribhuja, with eight fishermen onboard, which went missing off Goa coast on December 15.

The fishing boat left for fishing from Malpe Fishing Harbour on December 13. The last communication from the boat was on December 15.

In a letter written to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on December 27, K. Raghupati Bhat, MLA, said that though the Coast Guard had launched a search for the fishing boat, there had been no conclusive information about it till date. “The fishermen community here strongly believes that this is a case where pirates or terrorists have hijacked the boat and have held these fishermen as hostages,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Yashpal Suvarna, president of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts Fish Marketing Federation, said that such fishing boats normally took ration of food and water for a fortnight. The missing boat would have run out of food supply by now, he added.

It was hard to speculate if the boat had been hijacked or had met with an accident. Since the fishing boat was made out of steel, its debris need not float. “Such an incident had not taken place in the past,” he said. Since the boat had gone missing off Goa coast, the matter had already been brought to the notice of the Union Ministers Ms. Sitharaman and D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

Ms. Sitharaman had directed the Coast Guard and Indian Navy to search for the missing boat. A team of 15 fishermen had already left from Malpe and was coordinating with the Coastal Security Police (CSP) in the search for the missing fishermen, he said.

Mr. Suvarna said that Fisheries Minister Venkatarao Nadagouda should have visited the families of the missing fishermen. It was also essential that all Coastal States had a single coordination system. This would make it easier for them to track any boat, he said.

The Coastal Security Police in the State consisted mostly of police staff from other districts. They had little idea of the sea. Hence, there should be reservation of 10 % for youth from the coastal districts in the Coastal Security Police as they had better idea of the sea and its conditions, Mr. Suvarna said.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi said that the Coast Guard and Navy were searching for the missing boat. The police was also investigating the matter, he said.