Guyana has engaged authorities in Suriname about four Guyanese fishermen who are reported to be missing at sea.
Asked to comment on this development on Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha described the situation as “unfortunate” and noted that local authorities are trying to get more information on the matter.
“Presently, I don’t know what are the circumstances. I have spoken to our ambassador to get some more information. Hopefully, by the end of today, I can get more information,” the minister noted.
News reports indicate that the police said that they had received a report early Monday morning that the crew were floating on ice cubes. They said that the caller had indicated that people in the area had used their boats to search for the four people, without success.
The National Army Marine Corps, and the Groningen police were also deployed in the search.
The wife of the boat owner reported that her husband and three crew members were missing. She did not provide the names of the crew members.
According to her, her husband departed from the mooring at Huwelijkszorg on Friday evening, October 17, in a recently purchased and renovated fishing boat, heading for Paramaribo, for a mandatory seaworthiness inspection by the Maritime Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LVV).
She said that on Saturday morning, her husband, identified only as RL, called her to say the boat was taking on water and they were floating on ice. The call was abruptly cut off.
Later that evening, he called again and asked her to quickly write down the coordinates because “he wouldn’t make it.”
According to authorities, the location she gave turned out to be more than 100 kilometres offshore, in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean.
Mustapha noted that the situation is very concerning.
“We are very concerned because, generally, whenever our fisherfolks encounter difficulties like those, we tend to work along with our Coast Guard, work along with the other agencies, so that we can try as much as possible to locate them. However, this incident took place in Suriname waters, and I’m hoping that the Surinamese authorities, because I have also seen news that the Surinamese authorities have sent out their patrol vessels and also helicopters to look for these guys.”
“I am hoping by the end of today, I can get some more information from our ambassador here, and then I can put out an official statement from the Ministry of Agriculture….We are hoping that these people, that vessel can find them alive and bring them back to Suriname safely. So, I am very optimistic that that can happen,” he said.
It is currently unknown if the missing fishermen reside in Guyana or in Suriname.
Four Guyanese nationals feared dead after fishing boat sinks in Suriname
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