THE saga of the Adorra, the Trinidad and Tobago cargo boat that was said to have been shot at on June 28th last and forced to leave Guyana after the captain refused to transport drugs into that country, has had a negative impact on the burgeoning local coconut water industry.

Mrs. Vilma DaSilva, Regional Democratic Councillor and farmer in Region 2, (Pomeroon/Supenaam) disclosed that the vessel had come to Guyana to pick up a shipment of 25,000 litres of coconut water to be delivered to a company in Trinidad but it was discovered that its storage facilities were unsatisfactory.
She said that to date that large amount of coconut water is in cold storage still in her possession.
The delay is also causing some dismay among coconut farmers in the Pomeroon who are ready and rearing to produce so as to cash in on the new export venture.
Mrs. Da Silva said she had struck a deal with the Trinidad and Tobago Agribusiness Association (TTABA) to supply it with 50,000 litres of coconut water every month – a business with a potential for income of over $17million per month.
She said that the new market had the potential to help coconut farmers in the Pomeroon in terms of improving their livelihood and creating more employment.
The TTABA had sent containers and crates for the first shipment and had even made an advance payment.
Now, however, due to the situation with respect to the Adorra, the shipment is on hold.
Reports last week stated that after failing to receive the coconut water, the Adorra had been hired to take men and equipment into the Barama River, in Region 1 (Barima/Waini) on Friday June 29th last.
It should have travelled from the Pomeroon River out into the Atlantic and then back into the Waini River and then into the Barama.
It instead ended up in Trinidad with eleven Guyanese and millions of dollars of equipment owned by a Netherlands-based company operating in Guyana along with equipment from another company on board.
The eleven Guyanese men were featured on Trinidad TV last Wednesday night begging for assistance to get back home.
The captain claimed that he had been forced to flee to Trinidad after he was approached by persons to transport drugs in his boat and he had refused and the persons making the proposal had fired shots at his vessel.
A TV interview aired on CNC3 on Wednesday, July 3 showed the stranded Guyanese who denied hearing any shots being fired at the boat as the captain had reported.
A spokesman said that they boarded the boat fully expecting to be taken into the Barama River. But fifteen hours later they, inexplicably, found themselves in Trinidad. They all said that they wanted to return home.
The fate of the twelve stranded Guyanese passengers has not yet been determined.
Mrs. Da Silva said that she has been maintaining contact with officials of the TTABA and is hoping that alternative arrangements can be made for the first shipment of 25,000 litres of coconut water, currently in cold storage, to get to its destination.