GDF, Police join search party for missing fishermen

Suspected piracy attack

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Monday joined the search for the two missing fishermen from the suspected piracy attack of Sara 1 – a fishing vessel which was found ashore on Friday.
Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus explained that an aerial search was carried out on Monday over the Atlantic Ocean and Corentyne River.
The search took the aircraft from Suriname waters to the West Coast of Berbice.
Two bodies have already been found at Abary Foreshore in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
The body of 36-year-old Kawal Kissoon also called “Ajai” of Letter Kenny Village, Corentyne, was discovered on Friday and the badly decomposed body of 20-year-old Otto Lamar Petrie of Lot 90 Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, Corentyne, was discovered along the said foreshore on Sunday.
The missing crew members are 20-year-old Marvin Tamesar also called “Buddy” and “Bin Laden” of Lot 305 Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, and 20-year-old Vishnu Seeram also called “Kevin” of Lot 76 Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant.
The vessel was found on the foreshore at Wellington Park, Corentyne, on Friday afternoon. The search is continuing for Tamesar and Seeram.
Meanwhile, family members have also been on a search along the shores of the Corentyne.
The four fishermen left the shore on October 5 and were expected to spend between 14 to 28 days before returning home.
However, the vessel, without the crew, was discovered seven days into the fishing expedition.
There are reports that the vessel drifted ashore two days prior to the official discovery on Friday. Further reports suggest that Sara 1 was seen drifting on Monday at sea.
This, together with the fact that when the bodies of Kissoon and Petrie were discovered, their hands were tied behind their backs and their feet were tied together, has led to the belief that it was a piracy attack.
When Sara 1 was found, the boat engine was missing. There was no food in the cabin, and the crew would have taken food to last them for at least 28 days.
Despite the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies, an autopsy is expected to be conducted today.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Leslie James is of the view that there is need for aerial surveillance coupled with “fit for the purpose vessels” to assist in effectively monitoring fishermen on the high seas. He expressed that view last month when he testified before the Commission of Inquiry about the deadly piracy attack on 28 Guyanese fishermen in May of last year.
James said that some amendment must be made to the current legislation to make it compulsory for fishing vessels to have GPS tracking and communication devices.
On April 27 and 28, 2018, pirates attacked several fishing boats with Guyanese fishermen in what is being considered the worst piracy attack on Guyanese fishermen.
Four fishing boats with a total crew of 20 were attacked during the two-day period. Five of the fishermen survived after being chopped and thrown into the Ocean. The bodies of three of the missing men have since been recovered.
A fourth body, which was found in Surinamese waters, is still to be identified via DNA testing.
Eleven are still missing and are believed to have also died.