Five masked pirates went on a rampage over the weekend on the Corentyne, robbing six boats of millions of dollars in fish and fish glue and also escaping with one of the vessels.
Around 7 pm on Sunday the pirates who were carrying a shotgun and a pistol left one of their accomplices in their boat and took possession of the boat from the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) that was fitted with a 248 HP Yamaha outboard engine.
They then dumped the workers from that boat into another one belonging to a fisherman from the Corentyne but not before removing the catch and the engine lead.
They escaped in the hijacked boat which is still to be found. Workers from that boat were left stranded at the No. 66 Fish Port Complex yesterday morning. They were awaiting the owners to travel from the ECD.
Some of the workers related that the bandits got angry and hit them with gun butts and wood because they were taking a long time to hand over the catch and other items.
They also said that the men were biting pieces of cloth to disguise their voices. The fishing boat that the bandits came in carried an ice box which they covered with a tarpaulin.
The previous night the pirates launched an attack on about four fishing vessels starting from 7 pm to around 11 pm.
During the first attack, they robbed a boat belonging to a fisherman from No. 79 Village, Corentyne and took away the catch and a quantity of fish glue.
They left one of their accomplices in their boat and jumped into the fisherman’s boat, taking the men away. They then went to two other boats separately and ordered the workers to break out the power packs and coils from the engines. They also took away the catch from the two boats.
After that they robbed another boat of 90 snappers, over 100 trout and more than 40 pounds of glue all worth over $600,000.
The pirates ordered the captain of the boat to destroy the engine and remove the coil but he refused. They then held him at gun point and demanded that he “clamp out the engine and throw it overboard.”
The fisherman’s boat that the pirates were using had collided with another vessel during one of the raids and had started to leak. They then left the victims in that boat and escaped in the one they came in, with their loot.
Chairman of the Berbice Anti-Piracy Committee (BAPC), Pravinchandra Deodat told Stabroek News yesterday that he got the message on Sunday about the first set of attacks and immediately dispatched members to sea to assist.
He said the robberies occurred in the “eastern boundary of the Atlantic Ocean in the territorial water in the fishery zone.”
Deodat said his workers were also out at sea in his fishing boat and he was worried that they might have been attacked as well.
He pointed out that piracy occurs every year around the Lent season apparently because the price for fish, especially snapper was higher in Venezuela.
He said it seems as though the pirates were taking the fish there. According to him, the glue is not sold in Venezuela.
Spoiling
Deodat is of the opinion that the piracy is carried out by fishermen because they “seem to know exactly how to take care of the fish to prevent them from spoiling.”
He does not feel that “enough interest is being focused on the fishermen” and lamented that “fishermen should be respected because they risk their lives to feed the nation.”
According to him, “In 2007 the piracy was high and in 2008 after the piracy bill was passed the offence was made non-bailable.
He was “disappointed with the way the government is handling the piracy bill” and that the “judiciary is not recognizing the bill and is granting the pirates bail.”
Persons who were charged would also “threaten the fishermen when they are released. The fishermen would also be afraid to speak out because the pirates would warn them that if they come to the shore and talk they would kill them.”
The situation was getting out of hand and fishermen were becoming frustrated. The only alternative, Deodat said was to “close down the industry; we have to drop tools and open other businesses.”
He “appealed to lawyers that if you eat fish you should not to take the cases of pirates.” He pointed out that while on bail the pirates would go and “rob again to get money to pay the lawyers.”
Meanwhile, two weeks ago two other boats were robbed in Suriname waters of their catch and engine.
In that instance, the pirates escaped in the fishermen’s boat after dumping the occupants into another vessel. He said they then went to another location where their boat was and abandoned the fishing boat.
After the men reached the shores in Suriname they reported the matter to the police. The authorities there immediately sent out a helicopter to search and spotted the boat.
They then radioed their colleagues who informed the BAPC about its location. The owner subsequently sent out an engine and the men continued working to clear their expenses, Deodat said.
