The captains and crew of 22 fishing vessels of the Number 66 Fish Complex were left stranded in the Corentyne River on Sunday, after armed pirates relieved them of their gasoline, engine coils and a quantity of fish glue.

None of the crew seem to have been hurt or terrorized, as has happened in the past.

Stabroek News learnt that after 5 am yesterday three of the boats – belonging to Clent Nathoo, Michael Gibson and Krishendat Gopaul – returned to the fish complex to tell the sad tale, after the crew improvised sails, which allowed them to steer the boats home.

Gibson told this newspaper that he visited the complex after 5 am and saw one boat towing another to the shore. Shortly afterwards, he said, his crew arrived with his boat. Some of the crew of the other boats swam to the Coroni shore in Suriname and telephoned the owners around 3 pm on Monday. Rescue teams have since gone out to search for the other boats, taking with them components to fix the engines so that the boats could be piloted back here. Nathoo, the owner of one of the boats, who was also a victim of piracy in the past, said it was fortunate that the pirates had not terrorized the crew. He said he did not find out too much from them as to what transpired as he was “fed up wid this thing