Two more boats for Coast Guard

THE Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard will soon acquire two additional patrol boats to complement its fleet which will be used to curtail piracy on the high seas and to prevent illegal fishing in territorial waters. Minister of National Security Martin Joseph made the disclosure in the Senate yesterday in response to a question from Opposition Senator Wade Mark, who wanted to know the steps being taken by Government to curtail the resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Paria and other territorial waters. In 2003, there were three reports of robberies at sea, where crew members on fishing vessels were robbed of their engines, fuel and fish, said Joseph.

So far there have been two incidents of robbery on the high seas for the year. Both incidents occurred in February; one off the Five Islands and the other at the Felicity River. In most of the incidents, the perpetrators were “Spanish-speaking men,” said Joseph. The Minister assured that the Coast Guard was “sufficiently equipped to deal with the unlawful acts” and there were five bases from which they monitored the activities. He said the Coast Guard had nine patrol boats and two aircraft to do the 24-hour patrols, but the Ministry was in the process of acquiring two more vessels. The Minister said the vessels would be acquired through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) but he could not say when they would arrive in the country.