Lok Sabha Question No. 41 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-02
Subject: Agreements for Exchange of White Shipping Information
Ministry: SHIPPING
Asked by: A.T. (NANA) PATIL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SHIPPING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.41 ANSWERED ON 2 nd  FEBRUARY, 2017

## AGREEMENTS FOR EXCHANGE OF WHITE SHIPPING INFORMATION

41. SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL:

Will the Minister of SHIPPING  be pleased to state:

## पोतप�रवहनमंत्

- (a) the details of countries with which bilateral and multilateral agreements for exchange of white shipping information have been signed/operationlised;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to enter into said agreements with Indonesia and if so, the details and the present status thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to prevent recurrence of terrorist activities, human trafficking and piracy in Indian Coastal waters?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SHIPPING (SHRI PON. RADHAKRISHNAN)

- (a) The status of signing / operationalisation of bilateral  agreements/MoUs with different countries by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India for exchange of white shipping information are as follows:

| S.No.   | Signed     | Operationalised   |
|---------|------------|-------------------|
| (i)     | Singapore  | Yes               |
| (ii)    | Mauritius  | Yes               |
| (iii)   | Sri Lanka  | Yes               |
| (iv)    | Australia  | Yes               |
| (v)     | Vietnam    | Yes               |
| (vi)    | USA        | Pending           |
| (vii)   | Maldives   | Pending           |
| (viii)  | Seychelles | Pending           |
| (ix)    | Oman       | Pending           |
| (x)     | France     | Pending           |

No multilateral agreement on the subject has been signed till date.

- (b) The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs have informed that a draft  of  Agreement  with  Indonesia  was  shared  with  the  Indonesian  side  in  June, 2015. The matter was  discussed during the meeting of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) held in Jakarta on 17-18 January, 2017.

- (c) Steps taken/being taken by the Government to prevent recurrence of terrorist activities, human trafficking and piracy in Indian Coastal waters, as informed by Ministry of Defence,  are as follows:
- (i) A preventive mechanism in the form of a three-tiered cover [Indian Navy (IN), Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Marine Police] of coastal security with demarcated areas of responsibility is already in existence.
- (ii) The IN, ICG and State Marine Police units patrol the Maritime Zones of India.
- (iii) State  wise  Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs)  for  coordination  among various  agencies  on  coastal  security  issues  have  been  instituted  to  handle various types of situations.
- (iv) Towards strengthening coastal and offshore security, the IN has undertaken the following  measures:  setting-up  Joint  Operation  Centres  (JOCs)  at  Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Port Blair; setting-up of specialised force, the SagarPrahariBal  (SPB),  comprising  1000  personnel  and  80  Fast  Interceptor Craft (FICs); induction of 23 Immediate  Support Vessels (ISVs); and establishment of National Command Control Communication and Intelligence (NC 3 I) Network interlinking 51 nodes of the IN and ICG.
- (v) Coastal  Security  Exercises  are  also  being  undertaken  periodically  in  all Coastal  States  and  UTs  to  develop  a  robust  response  while  assessing  the efficacy of current mechanisms.
- (vi) Towards  strengthening  the  monitoring  mechanism,  the  entire  coastline  is planned to be kept under electronic surveillance. In addition to patrolling by surface  and  air  assets,  electronic  surveillance  of  the  maritime  zones  is undertaken using chain of Coastal Radars, National Automatic Identification System  (NAIS),  Long  Range  Identification  and  Tracking,  open  information sources,  etc.  This  assists  in  developing  comprehensive  Maritime  Domain Awareness.
- (vii) Project for fitment of transponders to track fishing vessels is being progressed in coordination amongst the concerned agencies.
- (viii) A  National  Maritime  Domain  Awareness  (NMDA)  project  to  integrate  all maritime databases is being progressed to enhance the domain awareness and integrated approach.
- (ix) For  suppressing  piracy, IN  has commenced  deployment  in  the  International Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) and adjoining areas in the Gulf of Aden in Oct 08. The IN and ICG have taken swift action to counter piracy and  its spread in the Arabian Sea, thwarting a total of 41 piracy attacks.

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