Local authorities have dispatched search parties to locate an unknown vessel believed to be drifting offshore Guyana with the remains of several persons. Little is known of the vessel at this time, says Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill. The official noted that the boat bears no registration number, flag, or distinctive markings.
The Surinamese authorities have been contacted, but according to the Minister, the country has no reports of offshore incidents, or that of missing mariners.
He cautioned that all the information received thus far, is ‘highly speculative’ with the exception that the vessel indeed contains human remains. Pictures, he said, were sent to Guyanese authorities by crew members onboard a tug contracted by ExxonMobil who made the discovery.
The crew, after informing the Maritime Administration (MARAD) about what it had discovered, were instructed to attempt to attach a towline and take it to a buoy 10 miles offshore Guyana.
The crew relayed that they needed information from their ‘principals’ before engaging. That permission was granted an hour later. However, efforts to attach the towline proved unsuccessful.
The crew was asked to stay and monitor the vessel as assets and resources were being mobilised to intercept the mystery vessel. However, intense weather conditions resulted in the crew losing sight of the boat. It was last seen around 19:00hrs last evening, some 83 nautical miles offshore.
ExxonMobil has assisted in the search by deploying a helicopter as searches were being conducted on water by joint service officers.
Edghill reported that judging from the pictures, the boat does not seem to have an engine, and the tug-line (bow line) appears to be severed. As the search continues, forensic and health officials are preparing to ‘do what is necessary’ to determine what might have happened to the vessel and its crew.
Search parties including members of the Guyana Coast Guard, Health officials, and law enforcement officers have been equipped with gears and tools to brace for any possible outcome. He said that with little known about the boat and its occupants, investigators cannot risk being ‘insensitive’.
“We don’t know if it is a disease; we don’t know if it is murder.”
Meanwhile, members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and forensic officials are prepping onshore for the interception of the vessel.
