Around 600 boats in the Kasimedu fishing harbour have been fitted with two-way communication transponders with technology developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
These transponders will come in handy in case of emergencies and will allow the boat owners, the Fisheries department control room and other agencies like the Coast Guard to know the whereabouts of the vessel.
According to officials in the Fisheries department, in the first phase, 1,400 deep-sea vessels and multi-day voyage vessels will be covered. “So far, around 900 transponders have been fixed on boats in Chennai, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thoothukudi and Colachel. ISRO has provided the technology to three companies of which one has developed the product and will provide around 2,700 transponders. We will fix the transponders as we get them,” said an official.
