MARAD to issue statement on status of search
THIRTY-ONE days of intense searches and thorough investigations have produced neither substantial information nor the slightest clue as to what transpired in the circumstances of the missing “MV Oliver L”, although local and international authorities were integrally involved in that exercise.
As regards the fate of the missing crewmen, Ramdat Roopnarine, called “Batman”; Captain Wexton Andrews, called “Mampy”; and Clad Burnette, who went missing with that vessel since December 21, 2011, it is anybody‘s guess.
Officials have, however, said that despite the outcome of the search, the investigation process will continue, in order to bring some amount of clarity to the issue, since the plight of the families involved is understood.

Vanished
Speaking with this publication via telephone, Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn said that that Ministry’s Maritime Department is expected to issue a release tomorrow seeking to update and inform the general public, and mostly the families of the three missing seamen, on the outcome of the search.
Minister Benn said Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkette has indicated that the search boxes set up in the Orinoco Delta have been completed and there still is no new development in this matter.
According to Minister Benn, the Venezuelan Coast Guards were contacted through the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they also conducted a search that yielded no positive results.
“I was talking to Foreign Affairs Minister (Rodrigues-Birkett) a few days ago, and there is no report of finding the vessel (or) finding the seamen. (The) Maritime (Department) should have issued a statement. By Monday, (they) will send out a release… The search boxes that had being given for the Orinoco Delta had been completed with respect to the searches.”
Minister Benn said no aircraft has reported sighting any vessel or any wreckage at sea; neither has any marine vessel traversing the waters involved reported sighting any wreckage.
“There are no reports of sighting of the vessel… Nothing has turned up as yet, and we had asked that ships and planes flying over the area keep an eye out for the vessel or (for) any wreckage.”

Dogged hope
When the Guyana Chronicle contacted the families of the missing men, they were all hopeful of a pleasant outcome, regardless of the current circumstances and the fact that the situation has had a major debilitating effect on the conduct of their daily lives.
After making contact with their respective family members on December 21st last year, the three seamen have proverbially vanished from the face of the earth, along with the ship on which they worked, the “MV Oliver L”. And until now, nobody seems able to crack this mystery of their disappearance. Nevertheless, local and international authorities are working to bring some clarity to the issue.
Works and Transport Minister Robeson Benn, who has been speaking with both the owners of the vessel and families of the missing crewmen, described the situation as very distressing in a recent press briefing. He noted that it is “not easy for anyone to lose a family member”.
According to Minister Benn, following receipt of the report on December 31, 2011, the authorities activated a ‘search and rescue’ operation involving the Coast Guard Unit of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) on January 1, 2012, and two search boxes were identified in the Orinoco Delta.
He said the disappearance of the vessel and crew is still considered “a mystery”, as the vessel was equipped with high and low frequency radio equipment, along with a satellite phone.  

The vanishing
The three Guyanese sailors had embarked on their journey to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on December 11th, 2011, and were expected to return home on Christmas Eve Day, after spending a few days in the twin-island republic. To date, they are still to come home.
The disappearance of the “MV Oliver L”, reportedly registered in the name of Raymond Lord, has evoked memories of the traceless disappearance of two vessels owned by Mr. Dennis Rambarran — the “Gran Rio R” and the “Fiona R”, along with their entire crews.
“Gran Rio R”, a 228-foot cargo vessel with a nine-man crew, was registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. At the time of its disappearance, on April 11, 2000, the vessel was en route to the Coco Reef Resort at Crown Point in Tobago, to deliver a consignment of 1,500 tonnes of silica sand.
The “Fiona R”, with six crew members, including Mr. Chandrama ‘Randolph’ Rambarran, one of Dennis Rambarran’s brothers, disappeared on September 23, 2002. Ironically, this vessel was also transporting silica sand to St Vincent and the Grenadines when it vanished without a trace.