LOCAL police have launched an investigation following the docking of the “Island Princess”, here in Guyana.
The vessel in which, three of four of its crew members bodies were found disemboweled, with gunshot wounds in the Essequibo River, has arrived here from Grenada.
However, there is no new information regarding the circumstances surrounding the violent murders of the crew members, but the owner of the trawler have since admitted that he rented the vessel to be used for commercial purposes.
The samples from the bodies were taken but it is unsure whether it was sent overseas for testing.
The three decomposing bodies were interred shortly after the on-spot post mortems the day the corpses washed ashore in the Essequibo River.
Initial police reports said that they are investigating a missing cargo vessel named ‘Island Princess’ and its four crew members about 18:00 hours on September 29, 2009, in the Essequibo River; and there was the subsequent discovery of two bodies off Hamburg and Wakenaam Islands in the Essequibo River on September 29 and 30.
The police reported that enquiries have so far revealed that Titus Thomas called Titus Buckley, the Captain of the vessel, and crew members Mahendra Singh, called Sunil, Ryan Chin, and Rickford Bannister left Parika with the vessel on Saturday September 26, 2009 for Friendship, East Bank Demerara. They were last contacted about 18:30 hours on the same day and gave their location as Essequibo River mouth. Efforts to contact them about half an hour later proved futile.
The bodies of Titus Thomas and Mahendra Singh were found in the vicinity of Wakenaam and Hamburg Island on September 29 and 30 respectively. Their bodies bore gunshot injuries and they were disemboweled.
Subsequently, about 17:05 hours Friday September 2, 2009, the body of a man about six feet tall and in a state of decomposition was found on the Queenstown, Essequibo foreshore, disemboweled, and with suspected gunshot injuries to the head and right leg.
The body was clad in mauve underwear, about 30 years old, medium built, brown in complexion and seeming to be to be of mixed ancestry. Relatives believe that the corpse is that of Ryan Chin.
The body of Rickford Bannister was never recovered.
An autopsy established that the men died of hemorrhage and shock, induced by gunshot injuries.
However, on October 11, 2009 the Island Princess was spotted in Grenada with no one onboard.
Shortly after, the Ministry of Home Affairs in a press release stated that the missing boat “The Islands Princess” has been spotted by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) off the Coast of Grenada.
In this regard, the Government of Guyana has authorized the State Powers controlling the Maritime Task Force, to enter Guyana’s territorial waters in control of the apprehended vessel and to have the said vessel moored at Port Georgetown under the supervision and control of the competent Guyanese Law Enforcement Authorities.          
The ill-fated Island Princess described as a “cargo vessel,” last sailed from Parika on September 26 and has not been seen since. The crew members of Island princess were identified as Ryan Chin, Titus Buckley Nascimento, Rickford Bannister and Mahendra Singh called Sunil. (Michel Outridge)