Police in Vizhinjam in India's Kerala state have formally charged the captain of a foreign-flagged commercial ship in connection with a collision with another vessel in the Arabian Sea late last week.
The master of the Panama-registered chemical tanker Solis has been charged with negligence following reports that his vessel rammed the Indian trawler St Joseph while the latter was at anchor approximately 120 nautical miles off the coast in the early afternoon (local time) of Saturday, March 7.
The trawler became heavily damaged and sank within minutes, though nine of her crew were brought aboard the tanker shortly afterwards.
Two other fishermen have gone missing and have not yet been found whle their nine companions who survived have been brought to hospital in Vizhinjam to undergo treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
The Indian Coast Guard is continuing to comb the waters off Kerala for any trace of the two missing fishermen.
The formal charge against Solis' captain stated that he manoeuvred the ship in a manner that endangered human life and caused injury. No details have been provided on whether he or his ship has been detained.