Tag: Italy

After Italy-India diplomatic spat The European Union called on Tuesday for international rules on the use of armed guards aboard ships amid a diplomatic spat between Italy and India over two Italian marines jailed in the south Asian country.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton discussed the issue with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Brussels after the two oil tanker guards allegedly killed two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates last month."She underlined the need to put this incident into the broader context of international co-operation on counter-piracy and more specifically on the issue of regulating the protection aboard ships," her office said in a statement.Several nations have allowed shipping companies to hire armed guards to protect their ships sailing through pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa, stirring a debate about their use.The two Italian marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, have been imprisoned in India's southern state of Kerala pending a murder investigation despite pressure from Italy for them to be handed over to Rome for prosecution.Italy argues India does not have jurisdiction in the case as it involved an Italian-flagged vessel and occurred in international waters near India.India disputes this, saying the incident happened in waters under ...

India detains two Italian marines who killed two Indian fishermen at sea Italy warned India on Wednesday that it was creating a "dangerous" precedent by detaining two Italian marines who were on an anti-piracy mission when they allegedly killed two Indian fishermen at sea.Premier Mario Monti relayed the warning during a telephone call with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh as the diplomatic standoff reached the highest levels of government as well as the halls of the European Union.According to a statement from Monti's office, Singh agreed to transfer the marines from prison to somewhere "adequate to their status."The marines, who were providing anti-piracy security aboard a cargo ship, are accused of shooting the fishermen Feb. 15 after mistaking them for pirates off India's southwest coast.A court in the southern state of Kerala on Monday ordered them jailed for another two weeks while officials investigate.New Delhi says the case should be tried in India because the killings occurred on an Indian boat. Rome says the shooting took place in international waters and the case should be handled in Italy.Italy says the presence of military personnel aboard the cargo ship is governed by an Italian law conforming to UN anti-piracy resolutions, and ...

UK P&I Club - Loss prevention information The UK P&I Club has been advised of changes in mooring practices with regard to double banking at Torrevaldaliga Nord quay in the Port of Civitavecchia. It is now provided that the Local Association of Moorers (Gruppo Ormeggiatori) is in charge of checking the safety of mooring ropes of double banked vessels every 4 hours. The details of these changes are given as follows:New text of article 10 of order n. 29/10 of Port Authority of Civitavecchia - Quay Torrevaldaliga NordArt. 10 - Double Banking. Further to assessment and forecast of weather conditions, Port Authority may authorize the contemporary double banking of one multipurpose vessel and one panamax vessel.In order to guarantee safety of mooring/unmooring manoeuvres, contemporary mooring of several multipurpose and post-panamax is not allowed.In case of double banking as per previous paragraph one, if not provided to the contrary by the Port Authority of Civitavecchia, the Gruppo Ormeggiatori shall control the mooring conditions of the two units by the means of regular inspections (every 4 hours); these inspections shall regard, in particular, the crossing of the panamax vessel's stern mooring ropes with the multipurpose vessel's bow mooring ropes; the outcome of ...

Costa Concordia tragedy updates Divers searching the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship off a Tuscan island found eight bodies Wednesday on one of the passenger decks, including that of a missing 5-year-old Italian girl, authorities said.Italy's national civil protection agency, which is monitoring the operation off a Tuscan island, said three of the bodies were recovered a few hours after being spotted by fire department divers. It said they are those of a woman, a girl and a man. Because of worsening weather, the divers were not able to immediately remove the other five bodies.The bodies were being transferred to a hospital on the mainland for identification, a process which could take days. Before Wednesday's development, 15 people were listed as missing, but only one of them was a child, Dayana Arlotti. The 5-year-old girl was on the Mediterranean cruise with her father and his girlfriend. The girlfriend survived. The father was among the missing.Including the missing - who are presumed dead - and bodies already recovered, the death toll in the accident stands at 32.Dayana's father, Williams, had a history of health problems, and was said by family to be traveling to celebrate a new lease on life - ...

India insists on the legal process in the case of fishermen being killed Even as India is insisting that the legal process has to be followed scrupulously in the case of fishermen killing by two Italian marines on board vessel Enrica Lexie recently, Italy wants a more political resolution to the matter.It has rushed in Under Secretary Staffan De Mistura who will arrive here on Wednesday to discuss the turn of the events regarding the arrest of the two Italian marines. De Mistura will "continue on a political level the action so far carried out by a delegation of experts from the Italian Foreign, Defence and Justice Ministries", a statement by the Italian Foreign Ministry said.Italy also claimed that the local Indian police had taken "coercive" and "unilateral" action in taking the two marines in custody and removing them from their ship. Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi too will arrive next week on Tuesday.Source: IBN Live

Following the killing of the two fishermen Terming as "unfortunate" the killing of two Indian fishermen by gun shots from an Italian ship, shipping minister G K Vasan said appropriate punishment should be given to the guilty."It is a very unfortunate incident. Italian arm guards fired (at) Indian fishermen. This is not acceptable," Vasan told reporters here, when asked to comment on the incident near Kerala.Observing that Director General, Shipping, has ordered an enquiry into the incident, he said it was internationally well-known that when there is a piracy attack, certain protocol should be followed."It was not followed here. Enquiry will reveal (what happened). Appropriate punishment should be given (to those guilty) as per the law of the land," he said.Vasan said there was a suspicion as to why the Italian ship did not report the incident on time. "I am sure proceedings will take place. There is no pressure from Italy. Our fishermen lives are very important".Two Indian fishermen, Ajesh Binki (25) and Jalastein (45), were killed on February 15 off the Kollam coast near Kerala when armed guards of Italian ship 'Enrica Lexie' fired at their boat.The preliminary assessment of the marine authorities is that the armed guards ...

The shooting incident has heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries Indian police and coastguards are questioning the captain and crew of an Italian cargo ship that fired at an Indian trawler, killing two fishermen.Reports say the Italians mistook the Indian fishing boat for a pirate vessel on Wednesday evening.Indian Defence Minister AK Antony has described the killings as "very serious" and an "unfortunate incident".The Italian ambassador in Delhi was summoned by the foreign ministry on Thursday over the shooting.Indian officials say they are surprised at the mistake and that the fishermen did nothing to threaten the Italian ship.Following the shootout, the Indian coast guard sent two boats and an aircraft to intercept the ship.The Kerala state government has authorised a payment of 500,000 rupees ($10,125; 6,450) each to the dead fishermen's families.'No weapons'The Italian ship, identified as the MV Enrica Lexie, fired at the fishermen in waters off India's southern state of Kerala, the Indian navy said in a statement.Officials said the vessel was bound from Singapore to Egypt, with a crew of 19 Indians.The Italians say the crew members fired in self-defence - after initially firing warning shots - because they feared their vessel was about to be ...

Enrica Lexie violated the anti-piracy norms when it fired at an Indian boat Italian merchant vessel Enrica Lexie had violated the established anti-piracy norms when it fired at an Indian boat carrying 11 fishermen off the Kollam coast in Kerala killing two of them, the navy on Thursday said.Whenever there is a piracy attempt on a merchant vessel, it is supposed to communicate to its base or nearest ship but no such communication was registered from the Italian ship in this incident, navy sources said in New Delhi.The incident was reported only after the fishermen returned to their village and the Italians had not informed authorities and agencies concerned even after killing the fishermen, they said.The security detail on the merchant vessel seemed to be trigger-happy as they directly attacked Indian fishermen, the sources said.As per the norms, any ship coming under attack has to report the incident immediately to the single primary point of contact which is the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) in Dubai.The ships are also supposed to make 'Mayday' distress calls on particular radio frequencies watched by the navies but no such attempt seems to have been made by the vessel.In case of an attack, merchant ...

The shooting incident has heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries

The coastguard evacuated the passengers and no injuries were reported More than 260 people were rescued early Saturday from a ferry which ran aground off Italy in a snow storm, while emergency services freed people trapped in cars and trains in freezing temperatures.The Shardon ferry ran aground shortly after setting off from Civitavecchia port near Rome, causing panic among the 262 passengers who feared a repeat of a cruise ship tragedy in the area last month which killed 32 people.Coastguard spokesman Carnine Albano said the accident, which tore a 25-meter (80-foot) hole in the ship's side above the waterline, was caused after the vessel was buffeted by a violent snow storm from the north-east.The coastguard evacuated the passengers and no injuries were reported.Heavy snowfalls in Rome caused the normally mild-weather capital to grind to a halt. Schools were closed in much of central and northern Italy and streets were widely deserted after authorities warned people to stay indoors.Over 150 people were stuck in a train for 10 hours overnight in the Abruzzo region with scarce water supplies.Emergency services also rescued 20 people blocked in their cars overnight near Rome, and two people were taken to hospital.Tuscany region ordered all emergency ...