PRESIDENT David Granger has launched a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the piracy attack that left sixteen fishermen missing and feared dead, after they were attacked by pirates off the Atlantic Coast of Suriname last year.

Dr. Rishee Shri Thakur, was, on Tuesday, appointed Commissioner before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrate Court.
Dr. Thakur started his work on Tuesday and is expected to host the commission in Berbice and anywhere else he deems fit.

A final report, findings and recommendations will be submitted to President Granger on or before September, 2, 2019, or any later date as may be determined by the President.
On April 27, 2018, a piracy attack which occurred off the Atlantic Coast of Suriname, left sixteen fishermen missing and feared dead. The bodies of three of the missing fishermen were later salvaged while two others washed ashore.

According to survivors, they were assaulted with machetes and forced to jump into the sea by the assailants.
According to the Terms of Reference (ToR), the Commission shall determine the number and identities of the persons killed in the attack and determine the perpetrators’ motive with a view to holding the guilty accountable.

Further, the ToR stated that the role of state agencies in the security of fishermen in the area, as well as all persons or organisations deemed responsible for the death of those persons will be investigated.

It was noted that a report on a plan of action be undertaken both at sea and onshore to prevent and counter piracy and related activities by addressing root causes of the phenomenon.

The Commissioner will conduct the inquiry in public as he sees fit and persons of interest to the proceedings will be summoned.

The Government of Guyana, in June 2018, made a one-off payment to relatives of five fishermen who suffered from the deadly pirate attack.

Among those who each received the sum of $100,000, were Mary Rodrigues – the mother of Sherwin Lovell – and Chandroutie Dwarka, who is the wife of Deonarine Gobherdan.
Lovell and Gobherdan are the two men who survived the brutal attack.

The other beneficiaries were the relatives of Glenroy Jones, Sunil Ramotar and Vickey Persaud who are still missing.

Following the deadly pirate attack on four fishing boats 30 miles (48 km) from the coast of Suriname, five men survived, while three bodies were recovered.

Still missing are: Ramesh Sanchar, 50; Glenroy Jones, 20; Tilaknauth Mohabir, 50; Ralph Anthony Couchman,19; Rajkumar Bissessar; Ganesh Beharry; Bobby Ibrahim; Sunil also known as “Podock”; Ramnarine Singh; Bharat Heralall; Randy Burnette; and Olenski Maxwell.

The attack was described by President David Granger as a “massacre”. A national day of mourning was observed on June 25, 2018 as a solemn memorial to the Guyanese fishermen.