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Guyanese among crew abandoned onboard Surinamese vessel
…stranded for days without pay, food after employers disappear
By Shervin Belgrave
Kaieteur News – A crew of six men is looking for their employers who allegedly disappeared and left them stranded onboard a Surinamese vessel anchored in the Essequibo River.
Members of the crew have not been paid by their employers and have reportedly been stranded for more than 22 days without any cash and food onboard the vessel. Kaieteur News was told that it is a Surinamese-owned tow boat called the ‘The Pearl of the Atlantic’. It is anchored in the Essequibo River, a fair distance away from the Parika Stelling.
The stranded crew onboard is made of Guyanese, Surinamese and Venezuelan men. After their food supplies ran out they turned to the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) for help. An official of MARAD has since confirmed that agency’s crew welfare department met with men and has taken some food supplies for them.
Photo taken on Wednesday of the stranded crew onboard the vessel
Speaking with Kaieteur News one of the crew members, a Guyanese, Orin Riddle, related that their Surinamese employers had employed them on the 24th of November last year to go on a month-long voyage to Trinidad and return.
A client of the employers had reportedly chartered the vessel to tow another vessel from Skeldon in Berbice, Trinidad. “We were not paid any advance but we were promised that we would receive our salaries in full when we return from the trip,” Riddle said.
They had set sail a few days later for Trinidad and had only returned on January 3 last. The vessel anchored in the Essequibo River and the employers disembarked the ‘Pearl of the Atlantic’ and left for Parika. Riddle explained that crew stayed behind because they were not paid as yet.
At first they were not worried because they believed that the men would return for the vessel and pay them off but their employers never returned. No one reportedly called them and as the days turned into weeks and the food supplies started to get low, the crew started to become worried that they were abandoned.
According to Riddle he was able to make contact with one of the employers, a Guyanese man who lives in Suriname but was not given any assurance of payments on their return. “He say how he ain’t got no money on he now and how the people that charter the boat ent pay them nothing”, Riddle told Kaieteur News.
The man’s words to Riddle reportedly “frightened” the crew because they are all fathers and did not leave much cash with their families for the Christmas holidays.
Riddle said, “some of the men had lil savings that they left home, others borrowed small loans from the banks and courts just to leave their family with lil security while they were away for Christmas. To go home now without no money is pressure”.
During their meeting with MARAD, agency officials assured them that an investigation has been launched. An order was obtained to prevent the vessel from leaving Guyana’s waters for Suriname until the crew is paid.
“the MARAD people was calling them but like they ain’t getting in contact with none of them. Like they nah answer them”, Riddle added.
Kaieteur News was able to source their numbers and reach out as well. One of the employers answered but he explained that he is not really in charge of the vessel. He provided this newspaper with another contact for another man he claimed is the one totally responsible for the now abandoned tug’s operations but calls to that number went unanswered.
Investigations are ongoing.
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