“The country’s western coast is not facing any serious threat from militant outfits, including the LTTE Reports that unidentified vessels were making trips to the area to dump arms were not correct,” said Coast Guard Western Regional Commandant A Rajasekhar.

He was speaking to the media aboard the Coast Guard ship ‘Savitribhai Bhule.’

He said the Coast Guard has not come across any evidence of LTTE operations along the western coast.

On expansion and modernisation of the Coast Guard, he said a new air station would be commissioned at Port Blair next March, which would be the force’s second such facility after the one in Daman.

The Coast Guard also had plans to strengthen its presence along the Kerala coast, setting up stations at Vizhinjam, Kollam and Beypore, he said.

He added that joint exercises with coast guards of other nations like the US had proved beneficial to Indian Coast Guard, which boasted of a strength of 600 officers and 6000 personnel and maintained a vigil along an area of 2.01 million sq km.

About increase in fishing-related mishaps off Kerala coast, he said, the supply of VHF communication sets to fishing boats would greatly help minimise the casualties and economic losses In states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, the government had introduced a programme to provide such systems on subsidised rates to boat operators.