Five pirates attacked the crews of 10 fishing boats on Tuesday off the Corentyne coast and robbed them of engines, fish and fish glue worth “millions of dollars” in the latest strike against the besieged industry.
The boats belonging to members of the Number 66 Fish Port Complex were attacked in the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the boats drifted to the Coroni shore in Suriname where the crew members were awaiting rescue. Up to late last evening only three of the boats had returned to the complex while a rescue team had gone to Coroni with engines to bring in the others.
The pirates who were armed with a double barrel gun used a grey boat to carry out the first attack. According to reports they pulled up alongside the boat and after they jumped in they proceeded to beat the crew severely with cutlasses.
The owner of the boat told Stabroek News that the pirates ordered his crew to lie face down. They then abandoned the boat they came with and compelled his captain to pilot them to the other boats.
According to the owner, the pirates threatened to kill his crew if they did not co-operate. He said the pirates demanded to know who the owner of the boat was but since he is a prominent member of the complex “they gave them a wrong name.”
He said the sea bandits examined his engine and after they realized it was “old” they did not take it. But, he said they took away the anchor from the boat. They also carted off a quantity of fish and fish glue worth over $300,000 from the boat.
The man said as his captain was heading back to the complex, he pulled in a boat that was drifting after the pirates had made off with the engine. Another crew that was left to drift was also rescued by a passing fishing boat.
An official from the complex told this newspaper that the attack occurred even though the head of the piracy ring and other pirates were arrested in Suriname. He said the piracy situation was under control for one month but it has started again since some of the men were granted bail in Suriname.
According to the official six engines, engine parts, a quantity of fishing seines and drums of gasoline were recovered in Suriname but the authorities have only returned two engines so far.
He said he is “fed up with this whole thing and I condemn the attack on the poor fishermen.” He appealed to the “general public, the opposition and human rights activists to speak out against the piracy and support the fishermen.”
He questioned, “Why is the human rights not coming out? Are the fishermen not humans too?”
Further he blamed “the government for not taking drastic actions against the pirates.
They should have moved to Suriname and bring the pirates back to Guyana to face charges.”
The official also said that even though government is offering full support to the fishermen by listening to their complaints “when the fishermen make a request they don’t respond
