Six laws to police high seas, haze on who enforces them

It found that in six offshore acts/rules, the agencies empowered to track their violations had not been set up or appointed or, worse, the establishment was unaware of the progress of the notification. “…There is no clarity on the status of the notification of the enforcement and investigation agencies under these acts/rules for various offences in territorial and international waters (contiguous zone, EEZ and continental shelf) and instances have been noticed that notification of enforcement and investigation agencies are still pending under some of the acts/rules,” the MHA realised.

Faced with a lackadaisical response, the MHA last March asked the states and central ministries to prepare a “status report” to track the notification of enforcement and investigation agencies appointed under the n Maritime Zone Act of 1973

# Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act of 1981

# Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation & Fixed Platform on Continental Shelf Act of 2002

#  Merchant Shipping (Presentation & Pollution of the Sea by Oil) Rule of 1974

# Offshore Areas Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act of 2002

#  Petroleum and Natural Gas (Safety & Offshore Operations) Rules of 2008.

Interestingly, officials said, the April 15 deadline for submission of reports has passed and only two departments out of the five had responded so far.

The realisation of tardy execution of acts and rules would not have dawned upon the MHA but for the court’s January 2013 order in the marines case limiting Kerala police jurisdiction to investigate offences only in territorial waters (12 nautical miles from the shore) and central agencies’ regime beyond territorial waters and up to the exclusive economic zone (200 nautical miles).