Relatives hold little hope for positive results
THE families of the three seamen who have gone missing with the mv ‘Oliver L’ are still awaiting word from the relevant authorities on the whereabouts of the men and the progress of the investigations, even after several days have elapsed. Clad Burnette; captain of the vessel, Wexton Andrew, called “Mampy”; and Ramdat Roopnarine left home on the missing vessel earlier in the month of December and never returned home as promised.
Authorities have invited the wives of Wexton Andrew and Ramdat Roopnarine to the Brickdam Police Station yesterday to give statements with regards to the issue.
Speaking with this newspaper after hours of interviews with police ranks, the wives of the two missing seamen said there is still no word about the disappearance of the men.
However, they said they were assured of being reliably informed about any progress with investigations.
The family members hold dim hope that anything significant will come of out the matter, since this occurrence is not a first time for the men’s boss (Johnny); a similar previous situation had involved other families.
During an earlier interview with the families of two of the men, it was reported that the three seamen had left Guyana on December 11th 2011, and were expected to return home on Christmas Eve Day, after spending a few days in a neighbouring country.
Wexton Andrews’s mother Ivette Floy had told this publication on Monday that this is the first such incident involving her son in all the years that he had been a seaman. Andrews had left home with the intention of coming back to Guyana for the Christmas holidays, to spend time with his reputed wife Sherry Hartman and two children. However, all efforts to contact him have proven futile.
Kamaldai Shuckoo, wife of Ramdat Roopnarine, said during an interview that she had received several phone calls from her husband on the 21st of December, informing her that he would be in the country on December 24th.
He, unfortunately, never showed, and there has still been no positive word about the three seamen.
She said: “The 21st of December he called back, and he told me that he was going to be here Christmas Eve Day, so that he could spend time with the family; and on to now… He called about three times during the same day he left, and the night time he called back about ten o’clock, and he said that he was going to come home. And to date he hasn’t returned,” a tearful Shuckoo said.
The man’s wife related that since she was aware of the weather conditions and understood that it might give the men a setback in arriving at home on time; she wasn’t worried when her husband didn’t come home as promised.
The wives of the men said they are constantly trying to make contact with their husbands’ boss, but he is almost never available to give them any assurance, or tell them anything with regards to what might be the circumstances surrounding the men’s disappearance.
While the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the men are still unclear, investigations are actively being carried out.