“The boat was taking in water” – Captain recounts ordeal as fisherman still missing

A fishing vessel Captain has provided new details about the ordeal at sea that led to the disappearance of 33-year-old Ryan Roberts, also called “Blue Shirt”, of Block B Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, who remains missing and is feared drowned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Roberts was among a five-man fishing crew that had left the Abary fishing landing on February 24 on what was expected to be a 15-day fishing trip. According to the vessel’s Captain, Dale Wilson, the crew had been at sea for several days when the incident occurred while they were hauling in their seine.
Recounting the events leading up to the ordeal, Wilson said the crew had just finished using the vessel’s hydraulic system to pull in their fishing seine when the situation suddenly changed.
“We had just used the hydraulic wrench to pull up the seine, and I was going down into the engine room to take it off the hydraulic system when the boat was hit by a large wave,” the Captain recalled.
Wilson said that shortly after the wave struck, he checked with the crew and was initially told that everyone was safe. However, when he inspected the engine room, he realised the situation was more serious.
“When I checked the engine room, I realised the boat was tilting and taking in water,” Wilson said.
It was then that the crew discovered that Roberts had been knocked overboard during the impact.
“It was then we realised Roberts was overboard. He had been by the icebox when the wave hit and knocked him into the Atlantic,” the Captain explained.
The Captain said the crew immediately began a desperate effort to save Roberts, who was struggling in the rough Atlantic waters. According to Wilson, the fishing seine that was still in the water helped keep the injured fisherman afloat while the men fought against the waves to pull him back to the vessel.
“It took us about an hour to pull him back onto the boat, and during that time he told us that both his legs were broken,” Wilson said.
Wilson said that even as the crew struggled to stabilise Roberts on the vessel, another problem was unfolding below deck. Water had begun rapidly filling the engine room, causing the boat to lean dangerously in the heavy seas.
“The boat was taking in a lot of water, and we were about ten miles from shore when I started the engine to head back to land,” the Captain said.
However, the Captain said their attempt to race the crippled vessel back to shore was short-lived.
“About five minutes after we started heading back the engine cut off because the engine room had filled with water,” Wilson said.
With the engine suddenly falling silent and the vessel already heavy with water, the small fishing boat began to roll helplessly in the pounding Atlantic swells.
Moments later the situation escalated.
“The boat then capsized, and all of us were thrown into the ocean,” he recalled.
Thrown into the cold Atlantic waters under limited moonlight, the crew suddenly found themselves fighting for survival as powerful waves rolled through the area. Wilson said the injured Roberts was quickly given a life ring while the men searched for anything that could help keep them afloat.
“We had him on an ice box and gave him a life ring, but the waves kept tossing him off,” the Captain said.
According to Wilson, the men clung desperately to the floating container as the rough sea repeatedly scattered them, each wave threatening to pull them further apart in the darkness.
As exhaustion began to set in, the Captain said a powerful wave struck the group, scattering the men once again across the turbulent water.
“A big wave scattered all of us, and when we got back together by the ice box, Roberts was gone,” Wilson said.
He added that some members of the crew later reported seeing the injured fisherman some distance away in the darkness.
“Some of the men said they saw him some distance away, but we were too weak to fight the waves to get to him,” the Captain said.
The remaining four crew members continued battling the rough sea throughout the night before they were eventually rescued by another fishing vessel.
“Till next morning when the sun come up, another fishing boat rescued the four of us and took us to the Abary landing,” Wilson said.
All four fishermen sought medical attention after reaching shore, with two of them admitted to the hospital for treatment before later being discharged. Roberts remains missing and is feared drowned. The matter was reported to the Mahaicony Police Station.