Here is the tragic story on the death of 23 year old Neha Chhikara, who was reported missing from Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Monarch of the Seas on December 31, 2009 near the Bahamas in the Atlantic on New Year’s Eve.
More disturbing information available are:
- Neha Chhikara, a former air hostess was the wife of Ankit Dalal, a crewmember of the same cruise ship.
- Later it was found from the vessel’s security camera footage that she jumped overboard from the 11th deck of the vessel.
- Indian press reports that
- the reason for her death as dowry harassment by Ankit Dalal who married her in 2008.
- few hours before going overboard, she had sent an e-mail to her brother Anuj Chhikara in India that reads: “Ankit has been beating me up every day… I have lost the strength to live and am very depressed. I do not think he wants me to work on this ship. He has threatened me that he would get my appointment cancelled… I am under extreme torture…”
- U.S Coast Guard launched a search operation by deploying their aircrafts and Coast Guard Cutter Cormorant but she could not be located.
- Ankit Dalal reported about her disappearance only after nine hours of the incident, a possible reason for the unsuccessful search operations.
Water Walk sports using water or aqua ball is now in Assam, India to attract locals and tourists.
Sub Lieutenant Seema Rani Sharma and Sub Lieutenant Ambica Hooda are now the first women observers of Indian Navy’s Naval Aviation wing. After completing their final phase of training from Observer School in INS Garuda, they passed out on November 20 from Southern Naval Command, Kochi. The parade was reviewed by Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai, Flag Officer Naval Aviation. The Short Service Commissioned Officers, will be appointed as Electronic Warfare Sensor Officers in Dornier maritime reconnaissance squadrons that is used for transportation and aerial surveillance.
USS New York (LPD 21), the amphibious transport dock ship was commissioned in New York on November 07.
The 28th Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference commenced at New Delhi on October 28. The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has said that the Government is making all out efforts to help Indian Coast Guard to be one of the finest Coast Guards in the world in a couple of years.
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing is taking place world wide. To conserve and manage the world’s fisheries, more than 17O Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adopted the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in 1995. The Code is voluntary and is applicable to all involved with fisheries. In 2001, the Members of FAO developed an International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU) to address this problem.
Here is ‘SeafarerHelp’ service from International Seafarers Assistance Network (ISAN), a network to assist seafarers. Presently SeafarerHelp is not in a position to assist seafarers with financial aid or sponsor seafarers to any courses.
