00:22hrs
November 25, 2008
565 Nele Maersk (flagship, Denmark, sailing in from Jebel Ali to Nhava Sheva) wires the Indian coast guard reporting an anomaly on its radar screen.
On her fourth sweep that morning, she records the presence of vessel MV Alpha off the coast of India on an unregistered voyage, dangerously close to her along the dredged channel.
(Any vessel on a registered voyage will show its destination on a radar sweep).
The Coast Guard responds placidly. "She's probably a stray fishing trawler. Don't worry about it."
565 Nele Maersk carries on with her berthing and cargo operations.
21:37hrs
November 26, 2008
Mumbai changed forever.
circa 14:30hrs
November 27, 2008
The Indian Coast Guard share information to the media that a batch of terrorists entered the Indian territorial waters on board a fishing trawler named MV Alpha. They were signed off to a smaller fish, Kuber, which they subsequently used to bank on Indian shores.
15:15hrs
February 18, 2009
565 Nele Maersk returns to the Indian coast with cargo on her routine MESA Service call. The captain signs off at Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal. In an unofficial conversation that cannot be held against him as evidence in a court of law, he remarks: "I wish I'd known..."
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Moral of this post: Every time they stop you to examine your car at a mall, frisk you at a public gathering or at a movie hall, ask for identification papers of your vehicle, co-operate. Ajmal Amir Kasab wasn't wearing a Tantra T-shirt that said: "Shoot me. I'm a terrorist."
You should feel a little awkward to realize that we're one of those very few countries where elections cannot be won by promising heavy investment in security.
I've seen people- respectable, multiple cell-phone and laptop totting middle-aged men, swearing and shouting at cops for stopping them and frisking them at the CST Train Terminal in Mumbai. I've seen people speed up and drive past check posts on streets in Bombay. And it's not even a year since 200 people died while having a good time like normal people.
Every time you avoid a checkpoint, you fight or resist at a security post, you demotivate security deployment. Your demotivation makes them lax. Your demotivation makes them as complacent as to say that a mother vessel on an unregistered voyage isn't something to worry about (MV stands for mother vessel and a mother vessel is a big, big boat).
Blame yourself. And change yourself.
We can make this country safer.
DB
PS: Coming up... What Really Happened on November 26, 2008.
PPS: This really happened. I work with Maersk Line.
