Published: 11:32 PM, 06 September 2026
Fishermen’s Uncertain Lives at Sea: Must Technology Remain Confined to the Shore?
Shafiqul Islam Khokon
The Bay of Bengal is vast, unpredictable and unforgiving. When the sea turns violent, fishing trawlers can disappear within minutes. Fishermen go missing, bodies are recovered days later, and families are left waiting anxiously for news—often receiving conflicting reports that deepen their uncertainty and grief.
For Bangladesh’s coastal communities, such tragedies are painfully familiar. Yet every new accident raises the same fundamental questions: How quickly does information about an accident reach the shore? How do fishermen send a distress signal when their vessel is in trouble? What happens when mobile networks are unavailable? And when a trawler sinks far offshore, how quickly can a rescue team actually reach the site?
These are not merely questions about technology. They are questions about preparedness, coordination, accountability and the value we place on the lives of people whose livelihoods depend on the sea.
The recent sinking of the FB Barkat has once again exposed these vulnerabilities.
The trawler reportedly left Patharghata on August 21 with 13 fishermen aboard, bound for the deep sea. Amid severe weather and powerful waves, the vessel sank. Eight fishermen survived after being assisted by another fishing trawler, while five were reported missing. Information about the recovery of their bodies subsequently emerged at different times, creating uncertainty over the actual number of survivors and victims.
Such discrepancies are not unusual after maritime accidents. But in a crisis at sea, confusion can cost lives.
When Minutes Become a Matter of Life and Death
Yunus Molla, a rescued fisherman and cook aboard the trawler, described how a violent storm was raging when the accident occurred. Several fishermen were inside the bridge preparing to cast their nets when a huge wave suddenly struck the vessel and caused it to overturn.
Eight fishermen reportedly remained in the water for nearly two hours before they were able to board another trawler.
Their experience illustrates one of the most frightening realities of working at sea: an accident can happen so suddenly that fishermen may not even have enough time to send a distress signal.
At that moment, people on shore may know nothing.
Families do not know whether their loved ones are alive. The vessel owner may not know what has happened. Authorities may not know the exact location of the accident, how many people were aboard or how many are missing.
In the deep sea, every minute matters.
Beyond the Reach of Mobile Networks
For many fishermen, mobile phones are the primary means of staying connected with their families. But as fishing trawlers move farther from the coast, mobile coverage becomes unreliable and eventually disappears.
This raises an urgent question: What reliable alternative communication systems are available when mobile networks fail?
Satellite communication, VHF radio, emergency locator systems and distress beacons can provide critical links between vessels and rescue authorities. Yet there is no easily accessible public picture of how widely such technologies are available across Bangladesh’s fishing fleet.
That gap matters.
In a maritime emergency, three pieces of information can be decisive: the vessel’s last known location, the time of its last communication and the number of people aboard.
If those details are available immediately, rescuers can narrow the search area dramatically. Without them, they may have to search an enormous expanse of ocean.
The absence of mobile coverage in the deep sea is not itself a technological failure. Mobile networks were never designed to provide comprehensive offshore coverage. The problem is relying on them as though they were.
Modern maritime safety requires communication systems that continue to function beyond the reach of terrestrial networks.
Weather Warnings Must Reach Fishermen—Not Just the Shore
Bangladesh has weather forecasting and warning systems. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department regularly issues forecasts and warnings when severe weather threatens the coast.
But issuing a warning is only the first step.
The more important question is whether the warning actually reaches fishermen in the deep sea—and reaches them early enough to make a difference.
There is a fundamental difference between a warning being issued from an office on shore and that warning being received by a fisherman hundreds of kilometres offshore.
If communication is lost during deteriorating weather, fishermen may not receive updated forecasts. Conditions can worsen rapidly, leaving them with limited options.
Weather cannot be controlled.
But the flow of information can.
After the Accident Comes Another Crisis: Who Is Missing?
Determining the exact number of missing fishermen is often another major challenge after a trawler sinks.
Who was aboard? Who has been rescued? Who remains missing? Whose body has been recovered?
These questions should have clear and immediate answers.
Yet there is often no single, centralized and continuously updated system containing the names, addresses, emergency contacts and other relevant information of everyone aboard a fishing vessel.
The result is predictable: conflicting information.
The Barkat incident reportedly produced differences in media reports concerning the identities, ages and status of missing fishermen. Such inconsistencies are more than a problem for journalists. They can complicate rescue operations and cause enormous psychological distress to families.
There have been cases in which someone was reported missing and later found alive. There have also been cases where premature reports of death caused unnecessary trauma for families.
In an emergency, information must be treated as part of the rescue operation itself.
Why Do Fishing Trawlers So Often Become the First Rescuers?
Following the Barkat accident, fishing trawlers were reportedly sent to assist in the search for the missing fishermen, including vessels arranged through the trawler owners’ association.
This raises a larger policy question: When a fishing trawler sinks in the deep sea, who is responsible for the first response?
The Bangladesh Coast Guard, marine police and other agencies may become involved. But when an accident occurs far from shore, distance becomes a formidable obstacle.
This is why local fishing vessels frequently play such an important role.
They are already there.
But an effective national rescue system should not depend primarily on whether another fishing boat happens to be nearby.
Fishermen deserve a system in which a distress call automatically triggers a coordinated response, rather than one in which rescue begins only after news reaches shore through uncertain channels.
For Families, the First News Often Comes as a Rumour
When a fisherman fails to contact his family, anxiety quickly spreads through coastal communities.
First, the phone is switched off.
Then the family waits.
They call the vessel owner. Someone says the trawler was caught in a storm. Someone else says another vessel has made contact. Another person says some fishermen have been rescued.
Social media may then amplify unverified information.
For families already living through uncertainty, every rumour can feel like a new emergency.
This is why authorities need a system that can quickly confirm basic facts: where the vessel was, when it was last tracked, when it last communicated and who was aboard.
The first hours after an accident are crucial. If authorities have to spend those hours merely establishing whether an accident has occurred, precious time is lost before the actual search even begins.
Technology Can Help—If It Reaches the Sea
The solutions are not beyond our technological capabilities.
Every fishing trawler operating in the deep sea should, as far as practically and financially feasible, be equipped with reliable emergency communication and tracking systems.
A comprehensive safety framework could include:
reliable emergency communication equipment;
vessel-location tracking;
distress-alert technology;
digital passenger and crew manifests;
regular location reporting;
reliable weather-warning reception; and
emergency contact information for every fisherman.
Such a system should connect vessels, coastal authorities and rescue agencies.
If authorities know the last confirmed location of a missing trawler, they do not have to search the entire Bay of Bengal. They can concentrate on a defined search area.
That can save hours—and potentially lives.
But technology alone will not solve the problem.
Accountability Matters Too
Before a trawler leaves port, weather conditions should be checked and safety requirements verified. Authorities should know whether a vessel is equipped with the necessary communication and safety equipment.
Vessels should not be allowed to ignore restrictions or warnings issued during dangerous weather.
There should also be clear accountability after every accident.
How long did it take for authorities to receive the first report? How long before a rescue operation began? How long before rescuers reached the probable location? How many vessels participated? What information was available at each stage?
These timelines should be documented and, where appropriate, made public.
Because the effectiveness of a rescue system can ultimately be measured in one simple unit:
time.
The Five Fishermen Must Not Become Just Another Statistic
The five fishermen reported missing from the Barkat should not simply become another statistic in Bangladesh’s long list of maritime accidents.
Their names, families and lives matter.
For their families, they were not “five missing fishermen.” They were fathers, sons, husbands, brothers and providers.
Yet news cycles move quickly. A few days from now, the headlines will change. The tragedy will fade from public attention. Fishing vessels will once again head into the sea. Nets will once again be cast.
And then, perhaps, another storm will arrive.
Will we once again see the same sequence?
“Fishing trawler sinks in bad weather; fishermen missing.”
Followed by:
“Bodies recovered from the sea.”
Or will this tragedy become a catalyst for structural change?
That is the real question.
The authorities must conduct a full investigation and establish what information was available before, during and after the incident. More importantly, lessons from this and previous accidents should be translated into concrete reforms.
The issue is not only the Barkat.
It is about every fishing vessel that leaves Bangladesh’s shores.
Misinformation Is Another Danger
The information vacuum surrounding maritime accidents creates another problem: misinformation on social media.
When verified information is unavailable, rumours can spread rapidly. Unreliable posts and unconfirmed claims can create panic among families and put additional pressure on journalists and authorities.
Journalists need reliable sources to report accurately. Authorities, meanwhile, need to communicate quickly and transparently so that misinformation does not fill the vacuum.
In a crisis, silence is rarely neutral.
When official information is delayed, rumours often take its place.
Technology Cannot Stop the Storm—but It Can Save People
The Bay of Bengal is vital to Bangladesh’s economy. Thousands of fishermen venture into its waters, risking their lives to support their families and sustain the country’s coastal economy.
They cannot stop a storm.
They cannot control the waves.
But Bangladesh can do much more to ensure that when disaster strikes, help is not delayed by the absence of information.
Deep-sea communication systems must be developed and made accessible to fishing vessels. Rapid-response rescue capabilities—including appropriately maintained aircraft and other assets where operationally justified—must be available for major maritime emergencies.
Fishermen should be required to provide authorities with updated lists containing their names, addresses, emergency contacts and other relevant information before going to sea. Their return should also be recorded.
Such a system would help authorities verify information quickly, reduce confusion and provide families with accurate updates.
Most importantly, it would transform rescue operations from a process driven by uncertainty into one driven by information.
The technology already exists.
The real question is whether we are willing to take it beyond the shore.
Shafiqul Islam Khokon is a
columnist and a researcher.
He can be reached at [email protected]
