Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Hijacked US ship abandoned in Demerara River
-missing vessel looted, several arrested
The abandoned Florida Star1 at the Grove/Diamond area yesterday.
By Leonard Gildarie
A ship believed to have been hijacked in Haiti in 2004, has been found drifting in the Demerara River and police have since arrested several persons caught looting it over the past few days.
Mystery surrounds the details on how the Florida Star 1 ended up on the Demerara River but residents of the Grove/Diamond area reported yesterday that the boat has been drifting for the past two days and there are fears of a possible collision with the Demerara Harbour Bridge. They also wonder how it sailed through the Harbour Bridge to get to its present location.
Yesterday, maritime officials said that they were aware of the presence of the vessel in the Demerara River and Coast Guard and other officials had boarded it some time ago.
A decision will now be made to secure the vessel and have it taken to a secure location as authorities attempt to unravel how it ended up there in the first place and who will be collecting it.
It was unclear yesterday how long the boat had entered Guyana waters and under what circumstances.
Kaieteur News was told that the vessel had been anchored in the Demerara River, Grove area, for the past two months. It was being looked after by the captain and a few workers.
However, several times persons attempted to board the vessel during the nights but were thwarted by the crew who reportedly fired off flares and warning shots.
Residents said that the boat is owned by a US citizen who ran out of the money to pay the crew.
The captain of Florida Star 1 and a few members of the crew had remained but decided to abandon ship last week.
It is believed that the looting of the boat then started. According to one resident, several villagers had fetched large quantities of foodstuff and other things from the boat. This all happened under the cover of darkness.
Two nights ago, police got wind of the situation and descended to the sea-dam between Grove and Diamond where the Florida Star had drifted. Several persons were reported arrested with what is believed to be stolen items.
Meanwhile, news items on the internet said that a ship by the name of Florida Star was hijacked from a port at Haiti in July 2004. The 247-foot ship was boarded by armed rebels at a port in Miraguane, Haiti where the captain was shot in the arm and crew members assaulted.
An official report on the piracy was made to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) by Colombian authorities in July 2004 but there have been no new details. Haitian officials had no information about the ship.
Coast Guard officials also had no reports. Coast Guard records show the ship was last in the United States in May 2004, when it was docked in Boston. The only other Coast Guard record is from September 2003, when the ship was cited for several minor infractions in Miami.
The cargo ship’s East Boston owner, 61-year-old Frank Bottino, has filed for bankruptcy and flown to the Caribbean in hopes of getting the troubled vessel out of stir and back on the high seas, it was reported in the Boston Herald.
According to other news reports, Bottino had called his business partners shortly after the hijacking and requested US$100,000 to get back the US$1.3M boat.
Bottino, initially believed by his partners to be dead, never responded to letters or newspaper ads. In March 2005, his Faywood Avenue home was foreclosed upon and sold at auction, records show.
Boston police had no missing persons report on Bottino and attempts to reach relatives were unsuccessful.
In February 2005, Bottino called other investors seeking money to retrieve the vessel, according to Robert Fedus, a Weymouth contractor and part-owner of the Florida Star.
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