Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Thursday, said the boat found with a few semi-automatic weapons off the Raigad coast was owned by Australian national Hana Londergun.
He said her husband James Hobert was the captain of the boat, that was going from Muscat to Europe.
“The engine of the boat failed on June 26. The crew gave a distress call. The crew was rescued by a Korean warship, but the boat had to be abandoned due to stormy weather,” he said, and added that since then the boat was floating in the seas and came to Harhareshwar coast in India due to international currents movements.
Fadnavis said high alert has been sounded and Maharashtra ATS and Raigad police are investigating the matter.
“There is no confirmation of any terror angle. The boat has just drifted here. We are not ruling out anything, investigating all aspects. Police have been asked to be on high alert,” news agency ANI quoted Fadnavis as saying.
“Central agencies have been informed. No possibilities of any consequences would be taken lightly. ATS is also working on it. The additional force will also be deployed if necessary,” he said.
A Coast Guard official said there is no security threat.
“It is a UK registered yacht which was sailing from Oman to Europe. It had given a distress call and people onboard were rescued by ships in the vicinity of Muscat on June 26,” the official said.
Three AK-47 rifles and some bullets were found on the boat.
The official said the boat was badly damaged and partly submerged after being battered by the monsoon winds.
—With PTI inputs