Finally, Italian ship Enrica Lexie sails out

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After 77 days, the Italian vessel Enrica Lexie sailed out of the Kochi port around 11 pm on Saturday.
Following the apex court order, the captain of the vessel, Umberto Vittelli and managing director of Dolphin Tankers, Pio Schiano Lomoreillo, executed a bond of Rs 3 crore and a demand draft of Rs 3 crore before the Registrar General B. Kamal Pasha.

Kamal Pasha, after ensuring that the Italians had furnished the sufficient bank guarantee, permitted the vessel to sail out and send a fax message to the Deputy Conservator of the Cochin port.

The vessel had been detained since February 15 after two Italian marines on board Enrica Lexie fired at a fishing boat, St Antony, killing two fishermen, Valentine and Ajeesh Pink.

Earlier in the day, the Registrar General had asked the ship owners to furnish sufficient bank guarantee rather than furnishing a bond of Rs 3 crore and following this, the owners furnished a Demand Draft drawn from Standard Chartered Bank.

Representative of James Mackintosh, the agents of Dolphin Tankers in India, Farooq H.; Italian Counsel General Geonpaulo Cuttillo, and their lawyer, senior advocate V.J. Mathew were also present before the Registrar-General to complete the proceedings.

The Supreme Court has asked Italy to file an undertaking stating that the four marines and other crew members of Enrica Lexie will return to India if needed by the police or courts in India.

The two marines, Lattore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone of the San Marco Regiment, are now lodged at the Poojappura central prison in connection with the murder case registered by the police.