A Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard unit on Sunday faced direct confrontation with a Venezuelan frigate, which tried to free one of that country's trawlers nabbed for fishing illegally in Guyana's waters.
"[The frigate] requested to take the Venezuelan vessel that we [had] apprehended into custody, but this was denied. It was done on two occasions and again we denied. It subsequently returned to Venezuela. This matter was dealt with primarily through the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Venezuelan Embassy in Guyana," Commander designate Terrence Pyle of the Coast Guard unit told reporters yesterday after the nabbed trawler, Marco Polo, was safely moored in port Georgetown.
At the time of the request, the Venezuelan frigate had crossed the median line into Guyana and had to be warned by the commanding officer of the GDFS Essequibo, which was in support, of the illegal entry. The foreigners were notified of the reason for nabbing the trawler and given assurances that the crew was safe, Pyle explained.
The Marco Polo was the second Venezuelan boat caught fishing illegally in Guyana's territorial waters in less than a week. On Friday last, the Maria Giovanna II was escorted to the same wharf after it was caught some 29 nautical miles east of the Waini River with more than 20,000 pounds of mixed fish, two crates of prawns and ten crates of seabob.
The Marco Polo was found with 7,000 pounds of mixed fish in its hold, and this was attributed to the presence of two larger vessels to which, Pyle said, the Venezuelan trawlers transferred their loot.
"The reason why we found the vessel with only 7,000 pounds is because we believe they had already unloaded the previous catch... on to the mother-ship. So it is a concerted effort to rape, because amongst the lot that we discovered, there were two large Venezuelan trawlers and those are normally the mother ships. They would take the catch from the small ones," Pyle explained. He said seven boats usually covered an area.
The Marco Polo was among six boats that escaped the local Coast Guards last week when the Maria Giovanna II was nabbed. On Saturday, it was not that lucky and according to Pyle, the crew did everything possible to prevent it from being detained.
The army intercepted the vessel at about 1:30 pm, approximately 16 nautical miles off the Waini River during a three-day operation. The commander said that like many foreigners caught fishing illegally in Guyana's territorial waters, the Venezuelans were hostile.
"[They] tried to foul the propellers of the two Coast Guard patrol vessels [the Barracuda and Tirapuku]. They actually succeeded in doing that and the Coast Guard had to mount evolutions to free the propellers of the vessels and continue with the operation. This was done successfully and we were able to take the vessel into custody."
Stabroek News understands that prior to the boarding of Marco Polo, its crew disabled the trawler's engines and dropped the fishing doors, effectively anchoring the boat. As a result, the local Coast Guards were forced to cut loose the fishing doors and deploy divers to disentangle the propellers of the two MLBs.
After this was done and the crew placed under arrest, one of the Coast Guard vessels towed the unwilling trawler to port.
Pyle said the hostility was not on the part of the frigate, but the crew of the nabbed trawler.
"The hostility was on the part of the fishing trawler. There was no hostility other than threatening manoeuvres by the Venezuelan frigate. That was dealt with through the correct channels and they subsequently left Guyana's territorial waters."
The local Trawler Owners Association is adhering to a self-imposed closed season at the moment. However, Pyle pointed out, vessels from foreign nations were taking advantage of the situation. As a result, they have intensified their patrols in the area.