The Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard flagship, GDFS Essequibo returned to port yesterday after successfully taking part in this year's Annual Operation Tradewinds exercises in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The vessel commanded by Captain Floyd Levi docked yesterday after a two-week exercise attended by eight other vessels from regional and extra-regional territories.
This was the third year that the Essequibo was participating in the US-funded exercises and the first since its premature withdrawal last year after narcotics were discovered aboard the vessel while in Barbados.
Second in Command of the GDF Coast Guard, Comman-der John Flores and Comman-der Levi both attested to successes at this year's exercise.
According to Levi, the seven officers and 36 ratings performed credibly in tasks involving counter-terrorism, anti-narcotics and disaster preparedness.
Apart from the US and Dominican Republic contingents, the Guyana crew was the largest group at the joint exercise, Levi said. Among the areas, which the GDF personnel proved outstanding were those of firefighting, damage control, ship manoeuvring and rescuing.
The journey to St Vincent reportedly took some 44 hours while the return leg was covered in 55 hours as the opportunity was seized to embark on some law enforcement duties under the fisheries protection patrol plan of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
During this encounter two foreign fishing vessels, a Venezuelan and Trinidadian were stopped and boarded, Levi said.
According to Levi, both vessels were found to be on innocent passage to Suriname and Port of Spain with no marine catches being found.
The vessel will soon depart for another of its twice-monthly fisheries protection patrols in the EEZ. Next year's exercises are expected to be held in Grenada.