ANNEXURE

Terms and conditions of Letter of Intent for operation of deep sea fishing vessels in Indian EEZ

  1. The Indian Company will furnish an undertaking (Annexure-A) to the effect that (a) they will not resort to any type of fishing other than the fishing method allowed under this letter of intend (b) no shrimping/trawling device will be fitted and the vessel will not be utilized for shrimping; and (c) the company will not exploit or try to fish any endangered species of marine turtle, mammals and fish species, etc.

  2. After issue of Letter of Permission (LOP) the company will take clearance from the Government for assignment of foreign crew on board the vessel and payment to them. Details in respect of each foreign crew (name, father's name, passport no., nationality and designation) should be submitted to this ministry at least two weeks ahead of their assignment. 

  3. This letter of intent should not be transferred to any other company or individual unless specifically approved by the Government. The vessel is also not transferable to any other company or individual after its acquisition without the permission of the Government.

  4. The vessel should engage in no activity other than fishing in the Indian EEZ and should fish beyond the area demarcated for operation of mechanized and non-mechanized and traditional fishing craft as prescribed by the Central/ State/ UT Government through notification/executive order, etc. from time to time and will not be permitted to fish in the areas covered by the coastline and the line adjoining the following points:

  1. Off Orissa, West Bengal Coast

    (i)    19020' N-85030'
    (ii)   200-86056'E
    (iii)  20042' N-880E
    (iv)  2108' N-8907'E
    (v)   21016' N-89014'E

  2. Off Maharashtra and Gujrat Coast line

    (i)    22054' N-67033'
    (ii)   21033' N-68056'E
    (iii)  1902' N-720E
    (iv)  18033' N-72030'E
    (v)   180 N-72031E

  3. Off Kerala and Tamil Nadu Coast line

    (i)    7045' N-770E
    (ii)   7045' N-780E
    (iii)  7030' N-780E
    (iv)  7030' N-770E

  1. Fishing will be permitted only beyond 24 nautical miles between the Nizampatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Paradeep Port (Orissa).

  2. For proper monitoring of the operations of the Indian deep sea fishing vessels and sea safety point of view, it will be mandatory for your deep sea fishing vessel to report vessels' position, intended course and speed and area of operation with latitude and longitude to Coast Guard at 0800 hrs daily or any other time specified by the authority.

  3. The base port for operation of vessel would be any one on East coast and one on the West Coast, which has to be informed to this Ministry before issue of Letter of Permission (LOP).

  4. Date of Commencement of voyage, likely period together with crew list will be furnished to DG Shipping Guard and Fishery Survey of India (FSI), Mumbai before each sailing. Intimation of completion of each voyage shall also be furnished to these agencies on return of the vessel (s) to these agencies.

  5. Government reserves the right to inspect the vessel and machinery and equipments on the vessel and shore based processing plants of the company at any time without notice.

  6. The company will submit the voyage report in the prescribed format to be provided by FSI, Mumbai at the time of issue of LOP to them and MPEDA within 15 days from the date of completion of each voyage.

  7. The single voyage period will not exceed 45 days from the date of commencement of operation and the voyage report of each such voyage has to be submitted to FSI and MPEDA within the time frame prescribed in this regard.

  8. Mid-sea transfer of fish catch and bunkering will be governed by reserve Bank of India and Custom regulations in this regard. The information in this regard will have to be furnished to MPEDA and Custom Authorities.

  9. Inspection of vessel by nearest Coast Guard authority before and after completion of each voyage will be carried out.

  10. Any change in foreign crew will have to be reported to the Coast Guard Headquarters and this Ministry and necessary prior approval/clearance will have to be obtained from the Government.

  11. The vessel will be registered with Indian MMD and a copy of registration certificate should be submitted to this Ministry after issue of LOP and commencement of fishing operations in the Indian EEZ. A copy of the bill of entry duly authenticated by Custom Authorities should also be submitted to this Ministry.

  12. The operator will give prior intimation to this Ministry as well as to Coast Guard to leave the Indian EEZ to any foreign port before 72 hours of leaving the Indian EEZ and only after obtaining prior permission of this Ministry, the vessel will be allowed to leave the Indian EEZ.

  13. All the vessels should be fitted with INMARSAT 'C' or comparable terminal like VMS with GPS facilities as prescribed by the Government. Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) shall be set up by each vessel within a period of six months from date of commencement of first operation.

  14. If anything adverse about the Indian Company or the foreign supplier company comes to the notice of the Government this letter of intent would be withdrawn/cancelled.

  15. In case where deep sea fishing is not the main objective of the Indian Company, the amended Memorandum and Articles of Association duly incorporating the clause of deep sea fishing should be submitted to this Ministry before issue of LOP. The amendment should be duly approved by Company Law Board.

  16. The mandatory clearance/certificates of wireless station/radio station etc. should be taken from the Ministry of Communications and IT, after issue of LOP.

  17. The schedule of payment of down payment installments in case of import of fishing vessels under deferred payment is as under:

    10% cost of the vessel    -    on arrival of the fishing vessel in India
    90% cost of the vessel    -    in 5 equal yearly installments

    The first installment is due within one year from the date of bill of entry and the second installment within two years and so on.

  18. There is no moratorium period for down payment or payment of yearly installments. Once the vessel is imported, the payment schedule starts from that day.

  19. The payment schedule is final and no reschedulement of installments is allowed under any circumstances.

  20. The vessel should be registered with MPEDA as per MPEDA Act.

  21. A status report of the foreign Supplier Company indicating its paid up capital, Board of Directors, number of vessels it own, bankers name and address, etc. certificate of incorporation etc. should be furnished in original in its company's letter head. The foreign party's telephone, telex, fax and postal address should also be furnished there in their letterhead.

  22. Name and address of the bankers of the Indian company with account number and type of account opened for all import/export transactions.

  23. You are requested to submit a declaration in the format (Annexure B) in judicial stamp paper of Rs.100/- that all the conditions of this letter of intent will be accepted and abided by your company.

  24. You are also requested to submit to this Ministry presently valid following certificates of the vessels:-
    a.    Registration Certificate
    b.    Annual Survey certificate
    c.    Tonnage certificate
    d.    Radio license certificate with present call sign
    e.    Ship valuation certificate
    f.    Ship's nationality certificate

  25. There is no optional period to opt out from the project. Once the company imports and starts operating the fishing vessel, the commitment of payment of cost of the vessel starts from that day as approved by the competent authority.

  26. The Indian company shall ensure that the vessel imported by them should comply with all the provisions of the relevant Act/Rules framed by the States/UTs/Central Government, the terms and

  27. conditions of the letter of intent/LOP, orders, circulars, etc. and they should take such measures as are necessary including communications with the vessels, safely of the crew and for keeping control of the vessel during its stay/operations in the Indian EEZ.

  28. The Indian company shall undertake to maintain and operate the vessel in good condition and pay for all operating and maintenance expenses including insurance, wages of crew, surveys, etc. and the crew shall be insured against all risks, acts of God, insurrection etc.  with an approved Indian Insurance Company.

  29. Export value of the catch from the fishing vessels should not be lower than the prevailing international market price at the time of export.

  30. Government reserves the right to impose any other conditions or modify the existing conditions from time to time. Penalty will be levied for any violation, which shall be decided by the Government. besides, this letter of intent is also liable to be cancelled without notice if any one or more of above conditions are not followed or violated.

  31. If the above conditions are acceptable to you, you may give your acceptance along with evidence of fulfillment of the conditions for issue of letter of permission.