A mysterious boat with rotten bodies disappears
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill alongside Foreign Affair Minister Robeson Benn (Center) during a press conference yesterday.
Kaieteur News – It seems so far that the mysterious boat seen Monday afternoon drifting Guyana offshore with what appeared to be decomposing bodies, may have disappeared. The ship was first seen around 14:04 hours. by a supply vessel (motor pull) contracted by US oil company ExxonMobil, which operates in the area.
Crewmembers aboard the abstraction took pictures and forwarded them to the relevant authority, the Department of Maritime Administration (MARAD), along with key details of the boat’s location.
Kaieteur News had reported that efforts were being made to tow the vessel to Port Georgetown, where further investigations would have been carried out.
However, according to a joint press conference held last night by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn at the Maritime Boat House, searches were conducted to find the ship, but not found.
Edghill said the boat was last seen about 19:53 o’clock. on Monday. Based on what he was told by his technical team, he drifted westward about 81 nautical miles off the shore of Guyana.
He explained that after receiving information from the motor pull about their discovery, a request was made to his crews to connect a tow line with the boat and bring a buoy about ten miles away from Port Georgetown.
Crews, told authorities they needed permission from their commanders, and were eventually found around 15:00 o’clock.
However, their efforts to attach the towing line were unsuccessful, after the sea weather changed suddenly and became rough. Edghill said the crews were doing everything they could to drift along with a ship, but they soon lost sight of it.
Early yesterday, the Minister of Public Works continued, two Guyana Defense Force (GDF) boats from Morwhana, Northwest Region (NWD), Region One, with Coastguard and members of Guyana Police (GPF) deployed to cover the area . The offshore search was also complemented by a five-hour air patrol by GDF ranks. Those ranks received support from ExxonMobil, which also conducted air searches.
Authorities also contacted a fishing boat operating in the area and directed him to head to the address where the boat was last seen.
Unfortunately, Edghill said, despite all the efforts made yesterday, the ship was not seen.
However, the Minister for Public Works assured that the search will continue. He detailed that the Coastguard was leaving Georgetown around 17:00 hours. yesterday in a privately owned fishing trailer, heading to an area where his technical team thinks the boat may have drifted and is expected to get there in sunlight.
That district said Edghill should be at 31 nautical miles just off the coast in Waini, Region One, if the boat continues to drift westward at a steady speed. He explained that this placement was based on a conspiracy undertaken by his technical team at MARAD.
Another flight by GDF ranks will also leave early today to continue the search by air. Meanwhile, during the conference, MARAD Director of Safety John Flores said there could be a possibility that the boat could have sunk due to inclement weather. Other than that, he said, depending on the direction and strength of the prevailing wind, the boat could drift in another direction and at a faster speed.
However, as the search continues, Edghill said if the boat was not located by the end of today, then the international community will be involved to find out the origin of the boat and the nationality of the rotten bodies.
So far, he added, no information is pointing in the direction that it might be a boat from Guyana, as there is no report of a missing boat or missing crew.
Suriname and neighboring Trinidad and Tobago were contacted to see if those countries could have lost a boat along with a crew but so far, they have been ruled out.
Edghill said they speculated based on the direction the boat was heading from, it could originate from as far afield as Africa. The photographic evidence obtained so far indicates that it is a relatively small river vessel. No engine was seen attached to the stern but a prominent towing line was seen attached to the bow of the boat.