Pirates strike... boat and engines stolen from fishermen

After being robbed of one boat and three engines by four Spanish-speaking men wearing masks and armed with guns, 14 fishermen drank salt water and ate roasted fish to satisfy their thirst and hunger.

They were eventually rescued by six Guyanese nationals whose vessel was passing in the vicinity in which they were stranded. Nine of them were Moruga fishermen missing since last  Friday. The nine men who left the Grand Chemin Beach around 4 am Friday were finally able to get assistance from Guyanese nationals in a vessel passing in the area — some 15 miles off the Grand Chemin coast, Moruga. Captain of the “Marissa” boat, Jerry Silverton spoke with Newsday. Silverton recalled that while at sea around 10 am Friday, around 20 miles off Grand Chemin beach they saw a vessel they knew  as the “Great White” approaching. He said they knew the boat so were not worried.

As the boat got nearer they noticed the men had wool caps pulled over their faces and were holding machine guns in their hands. Two of the four men were lying low in the boat. According to Silverton, one of the men fired a shot into the air. Silverton said he and the other eight fishermen froze. Two of the Spanish-speaking men jumped into his boat, the “Marissa”  and proceeded to tie  the hands and feet of the three occupants with ropes. Two of the masked Spanish men then jumped into the boat “Mr Cola” and did the same with its occupants. The other three fishermen on the third vessel “Cobra,” were also tied up. The  six men tied up in the two boats were then thrown into the  “Marissa” boat. Here, all nine fishermen with hands and feet tied, were bundled on top each other. The only English Silverton said the men  spoke were “snacks” as they took the several packs of snacks they had.

During this time Silverton said no one retaliated. He said, “We  could not do anything, men was pointing guns in we face. Meh hands get numb and blood stop circulating.” Silverton said the entire incident happened in approximately 15 minutes. The four masked men then made their escape in the “Cobra” vessel. The Spanish-speaking men also tied the three boats together. They then escaped in an easterly direction Silverton said  with the Yamaha 115 horse power engine of the “Marissa” valued at $35,000 and the engines of the “Great White” and “Mr Cola” each valued at $24,000. Silverton remembers that two of the men succeeded in freeing themselves. He said  there was one piece of wood in the boat and the men took turns paddling their way from the area. Shortly after midday he said they reached the Scattermang mangrove where they found  the five occupants of “Great White” who had been left there after the four Spanish men robbed them of their vessel earlier in the day.

Silverton said that on Saturday morning all 14 of them left in the “Marissa” boat, using ten makeshift oars  to paddle their way across the waters. Rescue and relief came hours after around 2.30 pm when they noticed a vessel  a great distance away. They shouted out and waved their hands to the men in the boat. Six Guyanese nationals in the boat he said reached them within minutes to assist. They returned to shores late Saturday evening  with the “Marissa.” Yesterday,  some of the fishermen went back to sea to retrieve the “Mr Cola” boat. However, the men have not expressed any intention of abandoning their risky trade.