Indian coast guard intercepts Pakistani fishing boat with 9 crew off Gujarat coast

The Indian Coast Guard intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat, AL-MADINA, in Indian waters, detaining its nine crew members for questioning.

Updated on: Jan 16, 2026, 20:23:53 IST

By Maulik Pathak

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Ahmedabad: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat after it was found inside Indian waters near the International Maritime Boundary Line in the Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast near Porbandar, officials said.

According to the ICG, the boat, named AL-MADINA, was sighted by an ICG ship on patrol in the region on January 14. All nine crew members on board, who have been detained, were found to be Pakistani nationals.

The ICG added that the boat attempted to flee towards Pakistan but was intercepted and boarded by ICG personnel in a night operation.

The boat has been brought to Porbandar, where a case is likely to be registered. “The boat is being towed to Porbandar by an ICG ship for thorough rummaging and joint interrogation by concerned agencies,” the post read.

In a post on X, the ICG stated, “In a swift and precise night operation, an India Coast Guard ship, while on patrol in the Arabian Sea, sighted a Pakistani fishing boat inside Indian waters near the International Maritime Boundary Line on 14 Jan ’26. On being challenged, the boat attempted to flee towards the Pakistan side; however, the ICG ship intercepted and boarded the boat in Indian waters. A total of nine crew were found in the Pakistani boat, AL-MADINA. The boat is being towed to Porbandar by an ICG ship for thorough rummaging and joint interrogation by concerned agencies. The operation reaffirms the ICG’s unwavering commitment to secure Bharat’s maritime frontiers through relentless vigil and law enforcement across the nation’s maritime domain.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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