Kochi | Two fishing boat owners in Kochi have been fined Rs 2.5 lakh each by the Fisheries Department for allowing a movie crew to use their vessels for an at-sea shoot without obtaining prior approval, officials said on Thursday.

"During an inspection on Wednesday, after seizing the boats, it was found that the vessels had been operating without valid licenses for an extended period, and one of them was also out of fitness" the officials added.

According to a press release issued by the Fisheries department, during an inspection conducted as part of the Indian Navy's ongoing ‘Sea Vigil' coastal security exercise, the Coastal Police informed the Vypin Fisheries Station about two boats engaged in unauthorized film shooting in the Chellanam area in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday.

The Vypin Fisheries Marine Enforcement team inspected the boats, ‘Bharat Ratna' and ‘Bharat Sagar', at 1.30 pm and found that they lacked the required special permits from the Fisheries Department to operate at sea and conduct film shooting, the release added.

The department also said it found that the 33-member film crew aboard the boats were not wearing any safety equipment.

Both the boats were subsequently taken to the Vypin Fisheries Marine Enforcement berth and placed under custody, the release stated.

Special permission from the Fisheries Department is required to use a fishing vessel for non-fishing purposes, said an official.

This permission is granted only after evaluating the vessel's operational efficiency, the condition of life-saving equipment, the permitted passenger capacity, and verifying all necessary legal documents, he added.