Amid reports that the crew had no fresh water on board a vessel carrying relief material for displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka and anchored near Chennai after it was turned away by Lankan Navy, port authorities on Saturday said adequate drinking water has been provided to them.
The vessel MV Captain Ali with relief supplies sent by Tamil diaspora set sail from Britain in April to Sri Lanka.
"We have provided 200 litres of drinking water to them," Chennai Post Trust chairman K Suresh said.
"The sailors in the vessel wanted to unload the cargo, but for unloading they need to get the customs approval and also require client," he said.
According to the Lankan Navy, the ship was turned away on the ground that it violated internationally accepted formalities followed by merchant ships seeking to enter Lankan waters and that it did not conform to the International Ships Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, on Friday, had written to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna seeking his intervention to "persuade" Sri Lanka to allow unloading of the relief material sent through the vessel.