Boat with 3 rifles seized, Maharashtra Govt rules out terror angle

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 18

A suspicious yacht, without any crew and carrying three rifles, was seized from Raigad in Maharashtra.

It was found in a damaged condition off the coast of Harihareshwar-Shrivardhan.

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis has ruled out a terror angle. Sources in the security establishment said the boat belonged to a Dubai-based security agency. The boat faced a crisis mid-sea and four occupants were saved from it off the coast of Oman.

The boat drifted from the Oman sea and reached India. An Indian Coast Guard team is looking into the matter.

Preliminary investigation shows the yacht belonged to a maritime security agency, Neptune P2P Group, a multinational firm.

The company that owned the box containing the weapons was contacted. It said the yacht capsized in international waters in June and the weapons on board belonged to them. The 16-metre-long boat, named Lady Han, is owned by a woman, Hana Lordorgan, an Australian citizen. Her husband, James Hobert, is the captain of the boat, which was on the way to Europe from Muscat.

On June 26, the engine of the boat failed. A Korean warship rescued the sailors from the boat and handed them over to Oman. The boat could not be towed as the sea was rough.

What happened mid-sea

• Boat ‘Lady Han’ owned by a woman, Hana Lordorgan, an Australian citizen
• Was on the way to Europe from Muscat
• On June 26, the engine of the boat failed
• A Korean warship rescued the sailors
• But boat could not be towed

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Tribune News Service

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