…abandoned boat floats up at Cromarty village

The worst fears of four Corentyne families were confirmed on Saturday after they positively identified the body of a man who washed ashore on Friday at Abary, West Berbice, as one of four fishermen who were reported missing on Friday.

The dead man has been identified as Kawal Kissoon, called ‘Ajay,’ 36, of  Letter Kenny village on the Corentyne.

The missing crew members have been identified as  Marvin Tamessar called ‘Buddy’ age 20, Lamar Petrie, 20 and Vishnu Seeram called ‘Kevin’ also 20, all of the village of Miss Pheobe on the East Berbice Corentyne.

The men departed the Number 65 fishing wharf on Saturday, October 5 and were headed for Surinamese waters in the vessel ‘Sara 1.’

Reports are that the abandoned vessel was found sometime on Friday by a resident of Cromarty village, grounded and abandoned at the villages’ foreshore with the engine and seine missing as well as the personal belongings of the fishermen still on board. The man immediately reported the matter to the police.

The crew was expected to return on October 19, 2019.However, following the discovery of the boat and the men’s belongings on Friday, family members immediately realised something was amiss.

A few hours later, family members of one of the fishermen were informed of a  body that was found bound and battered in Abary, West Berbice .On Saturday the body was positively identified as that of Kawal Kissoon.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle a devastated  Tashmanie  Seecharan called ‘Tasha’ said she last saw her husband, Kissoon, on the day he left for sea and also spoke to him via phone later that afternoon. She related that on Friday evening at around 21:30hrs, she
was awakened by members of a police patrol and she was informed that the boat on which her husband left for sea, was found abandoned.

Amidst tears, she said that this morning (Saturday) she went along with the relatives of the other men to the Cromarty foreshore where she was able to identify her husband’s belongings.

“I found his clothes, his ID card and other things but when I saw the chopper with a lot of blood on the seine I became very worried and started to pray hoping that he is safe and will return,” she said.

However, her worst fears were confirmed when she visited the Fort Wellington Hospital and recognised a tattoo on the body which washed ashore on Friday.

Kissoon was the eldest in his crew, with all the others being just 20 year old men. For Lamar Petrie, this was his maiden voyage into international waters despite being in the fishing industry for a few years. His mother explained that he is the eldest of 6 children and he told her on Thursday that he will be going to sea for the first time since he cannot find work locally.

The mother of Marvin Tamessar, told the Guyana Chronicle that her son has been a  fisherman for a number of years but it was his first trip on the vessel, ‘Sara 1.’

Divisional Commander, Calvin Brutus has confirmed that officers in the division are collaborating with the Surinamese authorities in their investigations into the matter.

The boat had approximately two pounds of fish glue, an indication that the men were able to catch a quantity of fish before tragedy struck. The boat’s owner, Sharadanand Rabindranauth called “Jerry,” was also questioned by the police.