As many as 36 fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested on September 29 for venturing near the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in the Indian Ocean were brought to Vizhinjam on Monday evening.
The men, who were in two boats, were arrested by the British vessel Grampien Endurance and tried at BIOT. Each vessel was fined £25,000.
One vessel was seized as the fine was not paid.
The second boat and all 36 crew were released.
BIOT - the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean - is located approximately halfway between East Africa and Indonesia.
The fishermen were received at sea off Vizhinjam by the Indian Coast Guard ships Anagh and C-441. The crew will undergo a medical examination and after an interrogation by the agencies concerned, will be handed over to the Fisheries department for safe passage to Thengaipattinam, Tamil Nadu, a defence spokesperson said.
