The Maritime Administration Department of Guyana, MARAD, yesterday confirmed that the catamaran which washed up on the Essequibo island of Wakenaam was manned by a German national, Axel Verlohr of Nuremberg. According to a release from MARAD, the man’s ID card and a telephone number were found on the vessel, and on dialling the number, a woman who claimed to be the man’s sister answered. She

told MARAD officials that her brother was travelling from the West Coast of Africa to Trinidad and Tobago.
It could be that the German was attacked by pirates, as the vessel was vandalized.
The catamaran was discovered on Saturday morning on the Wakenaam shore and is presently moored at a boating facility on the island.

By Leroy Smith