– Minister Benn
PUBLIC Works Minister Robeson Benn reported yesterday that there has been no sign of the cargo vessel, MV Oliver L, in the territorial waters of Guyana, Trinidad, or Venezuela. A team comprising Minister Benn; Lt. Col. Orin Porter, Operations Officer of the Coast Guard; Michael Tennant, River Navigation Officer of MARAD; Harbour Master Volton Skeete; Gary Beaton, Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard; and Stephen Thomas, Director of Maritime Safety, met yesterday  to study the reports that have so far come in from the search and rescue operations.
Diplomatic level contact has also been made with both Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. The vessel, registered in the name of Raymond Lord, has been missing, ostensibly, since December 25, 2011.
Manned by Captain Wexton Andrews and two seamen ratings, Ramdat Roopnarine and Clad Burnett, the ‘Oliver L’ left Trinidad on December 21 destined for Port Georgetown, and was expected to arrive in Guyana on Christmas Eve Day.
After it did not arrive, additional time was allotted because of bad weather, and a new arrival time was calculated at latest December 26, Boxing Day. The vessel has, to date, not arrived.
According to a report yesterday from the Government Information Agency, Minister Benn said local authorities have again contacted both the Trinidad and Venezuela Coast Guards with no positive results.
“Yesterday (Sunday), we did issue a search box for the mouth of the Orinoco (River), where it has been inferred by the experts that, if the vessel lost power and was adrift, it may find itself in that area. But, so far, there has been no success on that search, which is continuing,” GINA quoted the minister as saying.
Minister Benn and other members of the Maritime Authority expressed concern about the crew of the vessel.
“We are, of course, very concerned not simply about the loss of the assets, but more particularly about the captain and crew on board the vessel, and
that is Captain Andrews, and the two seamen, Roopnarine and Burnett,” the Minister said.
“We will continue to be in contact with the owners and the representatives here for the vessel, to be able to determine more particularly, and to record the circumstances in relation to the vessel, and the fact that it’s missing so far.”
Work with the Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guards will continue, with the support of the local authorities, which include the Transport and Harbours Department, the Maritime Administration Department, and the Guyana Coast Guard.
Personnel at the lighthouse, fisher folk, coastal mariners and all other seagoing vessels have all been alerted to be on the lookout for the MV ‘Oliver L’. Coast Guard assets in the North West District have also been notified, and have been on watch for the vessel. “We will continue to work hard at this, to bring what we hope to be a good closure to the matter,” Minister Benn said.
Responding to the fear that the operation could, at some time, be transformed from a search-and-rescue operation into a search-and-recover one, Minister Benn said, “We would have to await the outcome of the current search that is underway in the Orinoco before we determine that. There have been occasions (when), we have been told, the vessel has been delayed on a number of occasions, and didn’t report after four or five days. This is an extended period and highly unusual.”
If it is necessary, the call will be made, the Minister explained. However, he said that determination will be made based on the information received over the next few days.
“Of course, when we would have concluded that we would have comprehensively searched all the areas along the Guyana coast and that we are satisfied, too, that the help of Venezuela has been thorough, and the help of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard too has been thorough and comprehensive, we will make the call,” Benn posited. 
There is no indication that the vessel and crew may have slipped through any Port Authorities and gone elsewhere, Minister Benn said, adding that he would be surprised if the vessel had done that for any reason.
“They have families. Their families are concerned about them. We are, of course, very concerned about them (too). We are informed that they have both cell phones and satellite phones. The vessel is also equipped with the VHF, UHF, SSP radios; so it is worrying from that point of view,” he said.
On the issue of using a tracking system to locate the vessel and crew, Minister Benn explained that instrumentation to do tracking in that manner is not available. He added that while all the normal things are installed on the vessel, such as the radios and satellite phones, the phones would have to be on to enable the vessel to be tracked.
Director of Maritime Safety, Stephen Thomas, explained further that while the satellite telephone on the vessel is not a mandatory piece of equipment, it’s a good piece of equipment.
Thomas added, “According to the owner, they have been trying to contact (the vessel) but (the satellite telephone) is not on. They did not get any response. We’ve tried the cell phone numbers given for the crew also, and we aren’t getting any response. We have done calls to the VHF and the High Frequency radio, which is a long distance (radio), and we are not getting any response either. We are hoping that maybe it’s some mechanical or electrical problem.  I mean, that’s our optimistic hope, and (hope that the fault) is something that can be rectified and will be rectified.”
Thomas said that (the Maritime Authority and search teams) are actively pursuing all means to locate the vessel and crew through communication assets and collaboration with Guyana’s neighbours, “and all the vessels that are currently operating in our waters”.
“We have contacted ships that are coming from Trinidad to Guyana to ask them to be vigilant if they notice a vessel that fits that description, so that they can inform us and we can actively engage,” he added.
According to Maritime records, the vessel has all the basics in terms of the necessary communication equipment, and its inspection is up-to-date.
“If they are anywhere, stranded anywhere on the coast, they will be seen, because our coast is relatively busy between here and the North West District,” Thomas said.
“We are engaging our Venezuelan colleagues because, between Trinidad and Venezuela, in the track that the vessel was pursuing, is a lengthy coastline with a lot of islands and islets. So we are engaging with our Venezuelan colleagues and the Coast Guard over there to help us in that regard; because we cannot go and search in the Venezuelan waters, but we are actively scrutinizing our waters for any evidence of them. We’re hopeful that the crew is alive and well, and every effort is being made to rescue and recover them.”
It is possible that the crew and vessel may have sought shelter from bad weather in the Orinoco Delta on the leeward side of one of the islands, which is why there is so much collaboration with the Venezuelans.
Meanwhile, Harbour Master Volton Skeete said that the Georgetown Lighthouse, the main Coast Station, is in communication with foreign vessels that would normally frequent Guyana’s ports once they are heading to Trinidad or Venezuela. These vessels will be giving feedback to the Lighthouse if anything comes up. The Lighthouse is also in communication with fishing vessels that would be leaving Guyana’s ports, requesting those vessels to keep a look out. This will be ongoing as long as necessary. The search is continuing.