Vandalized Catamaran found off Wakenaam

The Maritime Administration Department this afternoon said a vandalized Catamaran was founded on the Wakenaam foreshore last Friday and a German man who was supposed to be aboard was not seen. Investigations are underway.

The MARAD press release follows:

Sometime during the hours of darkness last Friday evening April 17th or early Saturday morning April 18th, 2015, an unidentified Catamaran Yacht was discovered stranded on the Mofarm Foreshore, Wakenaam, Essequibo River. There was no sign of the crew and the vessel was vandalized.

Law enforcement officers initially inspected the vessel. They were followed by an officer from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) who was dispatched to the area on Sunday to also commence investigations into the circumstances which may have caused the vessel to make landfall in Guyana, and the status of its crew.

On Sunday evening it was successfully salvaged and taken to a more secure location at Wakenaam. The vessel’s name and port of Registry were not visible.

On Monday afternoon a German identification card (#802861887) in the name of Axel Verlohr of Nurenberg, and a note were discovered on the vessel. The note also contained the name and telephone numbers of a woman in Germany, who has since been contacted and who has identified herself as Verlohr’s sister.

According to the woman, he was supposed to be travelling alone from an Island off the West Coast of Africa to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

All of the relevant national law enforcement agencies are involved in investigating this occurrence, and MARAD is also pursuing the discovery with the German Authorities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed of this development.