THE authorities here are yet to make headway on the whereabouts of captain and crew of the US-registered vessel, “Gage Paul Thornton”, which was to arrive here in September but never did. The vessel, a single-screw tugboat captained by veteran Guyanese seaman, Godfrey Roberts Snr and manned by a four-member crew, reportedly left New York in late July for Guyana, but has not been seen or heard of since, except for a chance mention that she had had to seek shelter in St Kitts from Tropical Storm Erika.
This has since been confirmed by a recent posting on vesseltracker.com, saying: “The ‘Gage Paul Thornton’ with four persons on board was reported missing, and the last known position was on September 25, 2015, off the SW coast of St. Kitts.”
In light of this development, relatives of the missing captain, better known as ‘Captain Smokey’, living in the United States have now launched an investigation of their own into his disappearance, as well as that of his crewmen.
According to his son, Godfrey Roberts Jnr., his father had bought the vessel in New York, and was in the process of delivering it to someone here in Guyana.
“A third-party was supposed to receive the tug, once he arrived in Guyana,” he said.
Noting that it’s the third vessel his father had bought for the person, young Roberts said he is yet to find out who he or she is.
He also surmised that his father may be stuck somewhere in the Caribbean Sea, and said he is optimistic that he will be found. “My father has sailed the seas for over 40 years,” he told the Guyana Chronicle last week.
Godfrey Jnr. said that anyone with information pertaining to the missing tug may contact him in the U.S. on telephone number: 305-522-8248.
Tropical Storm Erika of August 2015 was reportedly the deadliest natural disaster to have occurred in Dominica since Hurricane David in 1979.