  Karte gross |
Southern Grenadines Yacht Attacks not be Taken Lightly
von Chris Doyle |
Tuesday the 11th of April 2006 was a black night for the yachting industry in St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Grenada. © Chris DoyleFour charter yachts were attacked in the early hours of the morning. Three of the incidents happened in the lower Grenadines. The first was in Chatham Bay, Union Island, at about 01:00 AM. Three young men boarded a catamaran charter boat from Autremer Concept in Martinique with eight people on board. Armed with a pistol-grip pump - action shotgun, they threatened the lives of those on board and stole money, cell phones and a laptop computer. They left in a red local outboard-runabout.At 02:00 AM, it was the turn of a yacht from Horizon Yacht Charters of Grenada, which was anchored at Sandy Island, Carriacou. The skipper of the board woke to fin a gun at his head. The party of eight was assembled in the main saloon, and at the point of a gun, three young men robbed them of cash, cell phones, and a camera. They also took two tanks of outboard fuel. Again the robbers left in a red coloured local boat and it seems a reasonable guess that this was the same group. Especially when the next yacht to be robbed was one anchored at PSV, about 02:30 AM. This was a yacht chartered from the Mooring Base Canoun, with a family on board including children. Again, the victims were threatened by three young men with a pistol-grip pump - action shotgun, and robbed of cash and cell phones. Again, the robbers left in a red painted boat. The fourth incident, which seems to be unconnected to the rest, happened in Chateaubelair, on St. Vincentīs leeward coast. Two men with cutlasses boarded a Mooring charter yacht and robbed the charterers of their cash. The police who are investigating the three Grenadines cases donīt seem to have got very far as of this writing (8 May). There are problems of jurisdiction: one incident (Sandy Island) happened in Grenadaīs waters, two in St. Vincent. To complicate matters, I have heard the Canoun police may be dealing with the Moorings case, and the Union Island police with the Autremer case. The scuttlebutt on the waterfront in Union Island is that a red-painted boat fitting the description of the one involved in the robberies was stolen on the night of Monday of the 10th and returned on the morning of Monday the 11th , minus its engine cover. There are stories of a young man shopping on the morning of Monday, the 11th in the town of Ashton on Union Island and trying t change Euros. I was told that, later that day, a young man called "Robot", a resident of Ashton, caught the ferry from Union to St. Vincent and was taken in for questioning by the police. The story around around Clifton is that he was released for lack of evidence. One Ashton resident told me the young man was back in Ashton boasting, "the police canīt handle me." Few yachtspeople are now brave enough to anchor at Sandy Island, PSY, or Chatham Bay. ( Through it seems to me, that with these criminals using speedboats, you might just as well be scared to anchor anywhere in the Grenadines). The Moorings have put out a travel advisory to their customers, who are being told not to overnight in any of the locations mentioned. If there more indicents, they are going to be forced to put out a travel advisory on general piracy in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Unless the police move - and move fast and efficiently - we could be at the beginning of a downward spiral for yachting in this area. Once these armed robbers realize they can get away with this kind of crime spree they will take a break, spend a lot and then strike again. And if not them, others are likely to try out a successful method for themselves. The police need to take these crimes very seriously and immediately put some heavy manpower into getting these armed and violent criminals under lock and key. One thing the police have going for them is a large number of witness. Most of the people who were robbed got an excellent look at the perpetrators, and some of them are very keen to come back and see them convicted of their crimes. My first suggestion to nip this potentially fatal crime wave in the bud would be for the police to send a photo of every suspect to the victims to see f indeed they had the right man. Serial armed robberies of visitors cannot be tolerated for one moment. Remember all the furore over "Sitting Ducks"? That was only one boat. Editorīs note: The May 19th edition of St. Vincent newspaper reports that Keron Walters, 21, of Union Island, is behind bars, having been charged with eight counts of robbery in connection with the incident at Chatham Bay. It is also alleged that he stole the speedboat used the robbery. Walters, who is scheduled to appear in court on June 13, was denied bail. The Vincentianīs report stated, "Prosecutor Sergeant Nigel Blucher had strongly objected to bail, highlighting the seriousness of the charges and the facts that the victims were tourists visiting these shores. He argued that such action could have serious repercussions for this countryīs tourist industries." |
