THE Guyana Police Force said it has noted with great concern an online news article which states that a purportedly Guyana registered motor vessel named Eolika has been detained in Dakar, Senegal and the crew arrested, after a search by Customs officials there unearthed a quantity of illegal arms and ammunition.

According to a release, the GPF has launched an immediate investigation into this matter during which officials of the Guyana Maritime Administration Department have confirmed that the vessel was not registered by any competent authority in Guyana.

“The Guyana Police Force is working with regional and international law enforcement agencies and has alerted the INTERPOL General Secretariat with the view to informing all member states, to confirm the veracity of the weapons seizure and to assist in the questioning of one Suneil Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of a Company Inc. that is involved in the registration of motor vessels and with which MARAD had severed ties during last year,” the police release said.

Reports published by TradeWinds, the global shipping news source, reported: “[A] Greek-controlled general cargo vessel was detained in Senegal with ammunition on board. The 1,400-dwt Eolika (built 1983) was held in Dakar on 27 December with 11 deficiencies.”

It continued: “Domestic reports claim the munitions were only found during a subsequent inspection, but the grounds for detention listed by the Equasis website include dangerous goods — harmful substances [in] packaged form.”

The report further stated that other grounds for detention were non-payment of wages and a fault with the auxiliary engine. The ships and ports website cited the Senegalese customs agency as saying the Eolika was searched when it stopped to take on fuel.

According to the TradeWinds, the vessel had “inconsistent declarations”, the agency added.

The munitions are reportedly worth $5.2 million, according to the Liberation daily. The four Ukrainian crew members are now in custody as an investigation continues. The ship had arrived from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.

Meanwhile, authorities have estimated the ship to be worth some US$1.38 million and listed its sale last June by Arch Shipping in the United Arab Emirates.

The Eolika, which flies the Guyana flag, was called Europe until last May. It has been detained four other times in the past four years. In 2018, it spent 52 days in Santander with 17 deficiencies, according to the website.
“It was also inspected in Mykonos, Greece, last October, when four faults were found, including deck corrosion, but it was not held,” the TradeWinds website noted.