CORA DIVH TO ELIKALPENI BANK Elikalpeni Bank 1 Elikalpeni Bank (11º16'.00N, 74º03'.00E) lies 35 miles NE of Androth Island. It is separated from Androth by a channel that is very deep and free from charted dangers. This bank, is about 5 miles in extent and composed of sharp coral rocks having general depths of 13 to 16 m with a least charted depth of 10.4 m near its SE edge; it is steep-to on all sides with depths falling rapidly to about 2000 m. 2 An isolated shoal with a depth of 49m, was reported in 1949, to lie approximately 3 miles NW of Elikalpeni Bank. 3 A group of shoal patches with depths from 18.3 to 33.0 m lies between 16 and 24 miles ENE and E of Elikalpeni Bank; as shown on the chart. Some of these patches are unexamined and others are of doubtful. LAKSHADWEEP-NORTHERN GROUP General information Chart 268,272 Area covered 1 Amindivi Islands, consist of islands of Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat and Bitra par comprise the N group of Lakshadweep; the off-lying reefs and banks in the area are also covered. Amini Island Charts 268, 2047 General information 1 Position. Amini Island (11º07'.50N, 72º43'.50E) lies at the NE end of the bank which extends NNE from Pitti. 2 Description. Amini is the most important island of the Amindivi Islands. Though the population spreads over much of the entire island, the main village is situated in the middle of the W side of the island, 3 Tidal streams W of the island set SW when in-going and SE when out-going, attaining a rate of about ¾ Kts. Useful mark. Amini Island Light (black metal framework tower, white bands, 30 m in height) (11º06'.79 N, 72º43'.23E) stands on the S point of the island; its position is approximate. Anchorage can be obtained off the W side of Amini in depths from 7 to 15m; outside the 20 m depth contour, depths increase rapidly. The recommended anchorage is with the S point of the island bearing 137°, distant 1.1 miles, in a depth of about 15m. 1 Landing. There is believed to be a raised stone platform, in front of the village, with steps leading down to the beach; behind the platform is a stone pillar and fronting the platform a narrow passage across the reef, suitable for small boats, is marked by stone posts. Local knowledge considered essential when using this landing. 2 Berths. Jetties are situated on the W and E coasts of the islands. On the west coast the jetty is approached via a channel through the reef. On the E coast, the jetty (11º07'.60N, 72º43'.99E). 3 Facilities. Small hospital; post office. Kadmat Charts 268, 2047 General information 1 Position. Kadmat Island (11º14'.00 N, 72º47'.00E) lies 3¼ miles NNE of Amini Island from which it is separated by a channel that is very deep and free from charted dangers with a fairway about 6 cables wide near its centre. Description. With a maximum width of 3 cables, the island is about 5 miles long and is orientated NNE/SSW; it lies on the E side of a coral atoll. The village is situated in the centre of the island. The ends of the island are covered by a low growth of scrub. The coral atoll extends, up to about 1 mile off its W side nearly parallel with the island, it also surrounds both the N and S ends of the island extending about 7½ cables S and 2¼ cables N; the E coast is generally steep-to. Offshore mark: Crane (near shore) (11º12'.87N, 72º46'.25E) Barge (11º13'.62N, 72º46'.49E) Barge (11º13'.53N, 72º46'.49E) Italian ship pacific Everest sunk in 1976 (11º14'.89N, 72º46'.28E) MSV manju a sailing vessel sunk in 2011 (11º13'.48N, 72º45'.55E) Useful Landmarks 1 Kadmat Island Light (white framework tower, 30 m in height) (11º 15'.44N, 72º47'.36E), 34 m in height, at the N end of the island. Another framework tower is reported to lie 1½ miles SSW. Lagoon. There are two narrow boat passages into the lagoon through the reef, both are marked on each side by a stone post; one passage is at the N end of the atoll, and the other 3 miles SSW of the N end. Within the lagoon depths are shallow and much of it dries. 1 Anchorages. Anchorage in good weather can be obtained off the reef S of Kadmat in depths from 8m to 20m, and from 0.2 to 0.5 mile from the reef (uncharted). Small vessels with local knowledge can anchor in 31m near the boat passage, and about 0.2 mile from the reef (uncharted). 2 Facilities. Concrete jetty in position 11º13'.67N, 72º46'.6E. Helipad in position 11º10'.94N, 72º45'.71E Small hospital; post office; police station. Peremul Par General information 1 Position. Peremul Par (11º09'.00N, 72º03'.00E), an atoll, lies 18 miles NNW of Agatti from which it is separated by a channel that, when clear of the reefs surrounding the atoll and the island, is deep and free from charted dangers. Description. Peremul Par consists of a narrow drying reef enclosing a lagoon; at HW, with a smooth sea, much of the reef does not break, making the edge of the reef difficult to distinguish. Lagoon. Inside the reef, a shoal, with depths of less than 1.8m, extends about 0.8 mile from its SW and N sides towards the middle of the island. The remainder of the lagoon is encumbered with drying coral reefs, with depths of 1.8 to 11m between them. Several good boat entrances are on the E side and two on the W side of the island. Anchorage. Anchorage can be obtained in 18.3m, about 0.3 mile offshore, abreast the boat entrances on the SW side of Peremul Par; local knowledge is necessary. Anchorage can also be obtained in 18.3 to 22m, off the NE side of the reef, with the sand cay bearing 213°, distant about 0.5 mile. Kiltan Island Charts 268, 2023 General information 1 Position. Kiltan Island (11º29'.00N, 73º00'.50E) lies 19 miles NE of Kadmat Island from which it is separated by a channel that is deep and free from charted dangers. Description. Kiltan is densely covered with coconut trees. A reef fringes the W side of the island and extends up to 3½ cables from it, forming a lagoon, with shoal water extending 1½ cables farther W; rocks and foul ground fringe much of the rest of the island and shoal water extends about 3 cables from its N and 2 cables from its S ends. A stretch of steep-to sandy beach breaks the fringing foul ground (uncharted) along the middle of the E side of the island. Landmark 1 Kiltan Island South Lighthouse (white round stone tower, red bands, 41m in height) (11º 28'.131N, 73º 00'.466E) stands near the SW end of the island. 2 Kiltan Island North Lighthouse (white round square tower, whitebands (day mark), masonary structure, 13 m in height) (11º 29'.792N, 72º 59'.953E) stands near the NW end of the island (upto may 2012 it was not fully operational). 3 Major light. Kiltan Island South Light as above. 4 Useful marks. Kiltan Island North Lighthouse (white round square tower, white bands (day mark), 40 feet in height) (11º29'.792N, 72º59'.953E) stands near the NW end of the island. 5 Other aids to navigation. New light. Lattice beacon 1 (11º29'.583N, 72º59'.823E), Lattice Pillar Beacon (red), 3m in height, marking Channel entrance. Lattice beacon 2(11º29'.565N, 72º59'.809E), Lattice Pillar Beacon (green), 3m in height, marking Channel entrance. 4 Radar landfall. Kiltan Island was reported to be a good radar target at 21 miles. 5 Lagoon. A boat passage leads through the N end of the reef to a shallow lagoon where there is a jetty on the W side of the island; a gap in the reef, about 0.6 mile S, is sometimes smoother. Each gap is marked by buoys from September to May. 1 Anchorages. Anchorage can be obtained off Kiltan Island in fair weather. The best position of anchorage are 11º29'.83N, 73º59'.78E and 11º47'.00N, 73º06'.83E 2 The best position is in about 9.1m, with the light structure bearing 129°, distant about 0.6 mile. During S winds, vessels should anchor a little closer inshore. A vessel anchoring should keep well clear of the position of stranded wreck 3 Anchorage can also be obtained off the S end of the island in 9.1 to 11m, about 0.4 mile offshore, if the swell is not heavy. Landing. In smooth weather there is a good landing at the middle of the E side of the island, where a steep-to sandy beach breaks the fringing foul ground. It should be noted that breakers occur on the N and S parts of this side of the island. Supplies. Water is obtainable from wells but it is black in colour with very heavy lime content. One water cleaning lab is situated here. Chemist collects water samples and check its parameters in lab. Facilities. Helipad (11º29'.88N, 72º59'.95E) is located north of island, with elevation of 25 feet from land. It is a concrete surface of 30x30 m. Approaches and take off bearing of helipad is VOKV – 024º / 61.6 NM. Jetty. A concrete Jetty of 77 m in length in position 11º 29' 21” N, 73º 00' 14” E is present for berthing of vessels/boats of draught less than 1.1 m. A crane of 2 tons and hydraulic forklift of 3 tons capacity are also available at the jetty Mooring Buoys. There is one set of Mooring Buoys installed for 5000 DWT vessels at 11º 29' 16” N, 73º 00' 38”E. Kiltan govt. hospital, post office, civil court, one basic school, police station. Chetlat Island Charts 268, 2047 General information 1 Position. Chetlat Island (11º41'.50N, 72º43'.00E), the N-most island of the Amindivi Islands, lies 21 miles NW of Kiltan Island from which it is separated by a channel that is deep and free from charted dangers. Description. Chetlat is inhabited and wooded with coconut trees. A reef fringes the S and W sides of the island extending up to 5 cables from its W side forming a lagoon, with shoal water and some isolated rocks extending about 3½ cables farther seaward; rocks and foul ground fringe much of the E side of the island which is otherwise steep-to. Industry. The main product is coconut; coir is made and exported to the mainland. Limestone and coral are also send to mainland. Useful mark. Chetlat Island Light (white framework tower, black band, 30 m in height) (11º 41'.86N, 72º 42'.98E) stands about 3 cables S of the N end of the island. Dak Banglow (11º43'.80N, 72º42'.94E) Other navigational aid. A radio beacon transmits from Chetlat Island Light-as above. For details see the relevant List of Radio Signals. Radar landfall. Chetlat is reported to be a good radar target at 19½ miles from E. Lagoon. Within the lagoon depths are generally shallow with numerous isolated rocks. Before an entry is attempted, local knowledge of the lagoon and its entrances is considered essential. There is a jetty within the lagoon on the W side of the island near its mid-point and close N of the main village. Anchorage. Anchorage can be obtained, in good weather, on the shoal areas extending NNW from the N end and SSW from the S end of the island. During the NE monsoon, the best anchorage is in 11 to 18.3m, about 0.4 mile offshore, with the SW end of the barrier reef bearing about 338°, and with the SW and SE points of Chetlat Island bearing 011° and 045°, respectively. Landing. When landing on the island it is advisable to use a local boat. The best landing place is on the S side of the island, near the SE point, where there is a depth of 2.1m at HW and 1.2m at LW. Facilities 1 Berthing. Jetty of 110 m of length with 1.0 m of depth alongside is available. Length of entrance channel is 880 m and 16 m wide with 1 m of depth, approach to the jetty can be made from western side of the island, however local knowledge is necessary before making approach. One jetty has been proposed on the E side of Island. 2 Navigational aids. Two GRP buoys (lighted) and four rubber buoys. 3 Helipad. A Helipad (11º 40'.760 N, 72º 42'.310 E) is located south of island, with elevation of 25 feet from land. It is a concrete surface of 30x30 m 4 Mooring buoy. Mooring buoy installed for 5000 DWT vessels on Eastern side of island in position 11º 41. '733 N, 72º 43'.10 E 5 Other facilities. Small hospital; post office, radio, internet, local police and fire fighting. 6 Supplies. Water is obtainable from wells but it is brackish with very heavy lime content. Bitra Par Chart 268 General information 1 Position. Bitra Par (11º33'.00N, 72º10'.00E), an atoll, lies 33 miles WSW of Chetlat Island from which it is separated by a channel that, when clear of the reefs surrounding the atoll and the island, is deep and free from charted dangers. Description. The atoll encloses a lagoon; the barrier reef, which dries from 0.3 to 0.9m, is narrow on its W and N sides, but it increases in width on its E and S sides. A light is shown from a white framework tower on Bitra Islet. Bitra Islet (Tree Islet), an opening in the reef, close S of Tree Islet, has a depth of 2.7m; boats can enter the lagoon through this opening. It is 5 cables long oriented NW/SE and 1 cable wide. Two sandy cays previously stood on the E part of the reef S of Bitra islets; the sand dries in patches between these cays. Jetty. A jetty is available of 15.30 m in length with the available depth of 1.50 m alongside. Tidal streams. Tidal currents at springs set strongly in and out of the lagoon, and care is necessary when making the anchorage. Useful mark Bitra Islet Light (white metal framework tower, red bands, 30 m in height) (11º35'.80N, 72º 11'.40E) stands on Bitra Islet. Lagoon. Depths within the lagoon vary from -0.1 to 10.4m. It is encumbered with coral reefs, drying and awash, especially towards S end. In addition to opening in the reef at the southern end, there exists a passage from eastern side of the jetty between coordinates 11° 35'.08N, 072° 11'.51E and 11° 35'.10N, 072° 10'.60E. This passage leads clear of the reef inside the lagoon and has minimum depth of 2.4m. Anchorage. Anchorage can be taken in 19.2 m, abreast the opening S of Tree Islet, with the NE extremity of the islet bearing 335°, distant about 0.6 mile. A vessel reported this anchorage was unsafe for a vessel 91.5m in length, and that there was no safe anchorage off Bitra. Reefs and banks at north end of Lakshadweep Chart 272 Byramgore Reef 1 Position. Byramgore Reef (Chereapani Reef) (11º55'.00N, 71º47'.00E) lies 25 miles NW of Bitra Par from which it is separated by a channel that is deep and free from charted dangers. 2 Description. Byramgore Reef is below-water, except for its SE point, which dries. Shoal depths lie all around this reef, but the shoal area on the N side, with depths of 7 to 15 m, is about 2 miles wide towards southwards and is indicated by overfalls. This N shoal area should be avoided as it may be shallower and is encumbered with coral reefs which can be plainly seen by a vessel passing over them. The coral rocks forming the reef are discernible at LW. Useful Landmarks. 1 A concrete boundary pillar 2m in height, white colour), conical shape with Ashoka Emblem, lies near the Southern end of the reef. Offshore mark. 2 A stranded wreck (11º55'.46N, 71º48'.90E) lies on the E side of the reef near its mid-point. Caution. Whenever a vessel is making approach or navigating around the reef due consideration be given to the shallow depths on the Northern side of the reef. Differentiating the reef and surrounding is not usually possible as the reef remains submerged underwater. The discolouration of water indicating shallow depth is a useful aid for navigating in proximity. Cherbaniani Reef 1 Position. Cherbaniani Reef (Beleapani Reef) (12º21'.00N, 71º53'.00E) is the N-most dangerous reef of Lakshadweep. It lies 17 miles NNE of Byramgore Reef from which it is separated by a channel that, when clear of these reefs, is deep and free from charted dangers 2 Description. A sand cay, with an islet and some sandbanks on its N and E sides, lay at the S end of the reef, but the greater part of the reef is only visible towards LW with a small islet at the NW extremity of the reef. Their exists two seamounts, one mount approx. 7 nm on the NNW of the reef with least depth of 359 m and the other mount 18 nm on the SE from the Southern tip of the reef with a least depth of 367 m. Useful Landmarks: 1 A prayer hall (12º23'.88N, 71º53'.93E) (3m in height, white colour), standing near the North end of the reef. 2 A concrete boundary pillar (2m in height, white colour), conical shape with Ashoka Emblem, standing near the North end of the reef. Caution. Whenever a vessel is making approach or navigating around the reef due consideration be given to the shallow depths on the Western side of the reef. The discolouration of water indicating shallow depth is a useful aid for navigating in proximity. Radar landfall. While approaching from NNW, the reef may be identified by radar, from a distance of 8 nm. Anchorage. Anchorage around the reef is not recommended due to presence of coral reef. Tidal stream 1 Tidal streams set NE when in-going and SW when out-going; the latter stream being the stronger and running from 8 to 10 hours at springs, during the NE monsoon, when the drain of current runs with it. Also, during this season, the in-going stream is scarcely perceptible although the regular rise and fall of tide is visible on the reefs. Current 1 In the vicinity of Byramgore Reef and Cherbaniani Reef, the current frequently sets 12 to 15 miles during a 12 hour period in uncertain directions, especially during the unsettled weather conditions experienced at the change of monsoons; the direction is usually between SE and SW during the months of March and September and NW in November to January. Discoloured water 1 In the vicinity of (12º09'.92N, 73º21'.35E), light greenish-brown in colour, two patches of discoloured water were reported previously to lie about 5 cables apart. Bassas de Pedro Basses de Pedro (Padua Bank of Munyal Par) (13°00'.00 N, 72°23'.00 E), the S end of which lies about 63 miles NNW of Kiltan Island, has depths of 16.1 to 62 m. The bank is large, steep-to, and composed of sand, shells, and decayed coral; the water on the bank is not discolored. Sesostris Bank (13°09'.00N, 71°58'.00E.), about 11 miles W of Basses de Pedro, has depths of 20.1 to 56m and is steep-to, consisting of coral, sand and shell. Cora Divh 1 Cora Divh (13°42'.00 N, 72°10'.00 E), with its SW point about 21 miles NNE of Sesostris Bank, has depths of 27.5 to 51m, sand, decayed coral, and broken shells. 2 There are some off-lying patches on the E and W sides of the bank, as shown on the chart. A depth of 23.5 m was reported (1963) to lie about 14 miles ENE of the S end of Cora Divh. And a patch of discoloured water has been reported to lie close of the NE side of the bank.