Government to bring back stranded Burmese fishermen

Thursday, 15 September 2011 22:09 Te Te   

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Myanmar Fisheries Federation says the Burmese government has negotiated with the Indian government to bring back 135 Burmese fishermen who were adrift at sea and have been stranded in Port Blair in Andaman Island.

“Originally, the authorities planned to send them back to Burma via an Indian coast guard ship. But the plan was delayed, so Burmese authorities are negotiating to bring them back to Burma via airplane,” said Win Kyaing, the general-secretary of the fisheries federation.

Three Burmese fishermen who were stranded in India for 10 years after a storm at sea. Photo: Mizzima

He said that the exact date had not been set.

About five months after the Indian government informed Burmese authorities that the marine workers had been rescued by its navy following a storm, officials began plans to bring them back. Most of the fishermen are from Pyapon township.

Most of the workers were adrift on their tiger-shaped rafts after a sudden storm in the Gulf of Martaban in March 2011. A few others were stranded earlier in the year. The fisheries federation said that more than 480 fishermen are still missing.

“We have had no clues for a long time, so I think they will be placed on the list of the deceased,” a fisheries official said.

Because of the March storm, 3,600 rafts from Twante, Kawhmu and Kungyangon townships in Rangoon Region and Labutta, Pyapon, Dedaye and Bogalay townships in Irrawaddy Region were damaged. An estimated 16,268 fishermen were adrift at sea, according to the federation.

“The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries gave the lists of the names of the fishermen [who are missing] to the relevant ministries of the countries located along the coast of the Indian Ocean,” said Win Kyaing.

Meanwhile, he said that three Burmese fishermen who were stranded in India for 10 years after a storm have arrived back in Burma. Similarly, the Burmese embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has sent back 14 Burmese fishermen stranded in Sri Lanka to Burma, he said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar Insurance has announced that it will soon offer an insurance plan for marine workers who die or are injured while working on the sea.